Fuel tax could be replaced with by-the-mile road tax

The year is 2020 and the gasoline tax is history. In its place you get a monthly tax bill based on each mile you drove — tracked by a Global Positioning System device in your car and uploaded to a billing center. What once was science fiction is being field-tested by the University of Iowa to iron out the wrinkles should a by-the-mile road tax ever be enacted. Besides the technological advances making such a tax possible, the idea is getting a hard push from a growing number of transportation experts and officials. That is because the traditional by-the-gallon fuel tax, struggling to keep up with road building and maintenance demands, could fall even farther behind as vehicles' gas mileage rises and more alternative-fuel vehicles come on line. The idea of shifting to a by-the-mile tax has been discussed for years, but it now appears to be getting more serious attention...KansasCityStar

Just think what that would do to us in the west, especially those living in rural areas, because of the distances we travel.

I'm confident the data from the GPS system would never be "studied" or shared with law enforcement or other government snoops.

We can trust them, right?