Now here's a new one: Mission approves groundbreaking ‘driveway’ tax

[proud2BlibKansan]

The Mission City Council tonight approved the so-called “driveway tax” to pay for roads.

The council voted 7-1 to start charging fees based on how much traffic properties produce instead of relying heavily on unstable property and sales taxes.

The fee, which starts in December, will run $72 a year for single-family homes. Larger businesses that generate lots of traffic, like Mission Bank, could pay $5,659 a year. A drive-thru fast food restaurant could pay $12,200 a year. Target could pay $64,750 yearly.

City officials and some local experts believe the fee would be the first in Kansas as well as the entire Midwest.



Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2010/08/18/2159746/mission-approves-groundbreaking.html#ixzz0x15CQi00

[dmallind]

1. It's a tad libertarian, but I do not hate this idea at all.

Obviously there would be some wrinkles to work out such as profit vs nonprofit and how the measure is determined, but I consider the basic approach sound.

It is hardly wild to try to make the creators of most traffic pay the most for the damage it causes and the infrastructure it needs.

[MadHound]

2. Target COULD pay that tax,

But somehow I doubt that they will. If Mission City is like other cities, many of those chain stores and large corporations made sweet deals with the city that reduced or eliminated the property tax they should have been paying.

Which helped lead to the problem of declining tax revenues. Perhaps if cities actually taxed corporate property at the appropriate rate, there wouldn't be a revenue problem.

[proud2BlibKansan]

4. Somehow, The Star left that little factoid out

:)

[aquart]

3. Or we could tax the rich.

[proud2BlibKansan]

5. Duh

LOL