Mileage tax won’t be in Biden infrastructure bill, Buttigieg says after floating idea
President Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan won’t include a mileage tax, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says.
Buttigieg floated the idea, which would tax people based on how many miles they drive, as a way to help fund the plan during an interview with CNBC last week — drawing criticism from some.
But he told CNN’s “The Lead” on Monday that the tax is not under consideration.
“That’s not part of the conversation about this infrastructure bill,” he said on CNN. “So just want to make sure that’s really clear. But you will be hearing a lot more details in the coming days about how we envision being able to fund this.”
Biden is set to unveil details about the two-part plan, which could reportedly cost roughly $3 trillion, Wednesday.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Monday that Biden will discuss investments in domestic manufacturing, research and development, the “care-giving economy” and infrastructure.
“In the coming weeks the president will lay out his vision for a second package that focuses squarely on creating economy security for the middle class through investments in child care, health care, education and other areas,” Psaki said during the press briefing.
She said Biden will also propose a “plan to pay for it” when asked during the briefing how much of the package would need to be paid for with tax revenue.
The Biden administration is aiming to pass the bill by this summer, The Hill reports. But it’s expected to face debate in Congress as Republicans will likely oppose tax increases.
The Washington Post reports that debate has already begun, with some lawmakers arguing the plan is too big while other say it doesn’t do enough. There are also disagreements over how to pay for it.
Buttigieg said during the interview with CNBC last week that there would be “no net cost” to the American people.
“When you think about infrastructure, it’s a classic example of the kind of investment that has a return on that investment,” he said. “That’s one of many reasons why we think this is so important. This is a jobs vision as much as it is an infrastructure vision, a climate vision and more.”
He also spoke about potential avenues to fund the plan, telling CNBC a mileage-based tax “shows a lot of promise” over a gas tax but said “you’re hearing a lot of maybe here because all of these things need to be balanced.”
Some criticized the idea of a mileage tax, deriding it as a burden on working Americans. But some have “pivoted” toward it as a more sustainable revenue source amid efforts to promote the use of electric vehicles, CNBC reports.
Benjamin Halle, a spokesperson for Buttigieg, said in a statement that Buttigieg was “having a broad conversation about a variety of ways to fund transportation,” according to USA Today.
“To be clear, he never said that VMT (vehicle mileage tax) was under consideration by the White House as part of this infrastructure plan – and it is not,” the statement said
Buttigieg also clarified on CNN that a gas tax is not under consideration either.
“I want to reiterate the president’s central commitment here,” he told the outlet. “If you’re making less than $400,000 a year, this proposal will not involve a tax increase for you.”
This story was originally published March 30, 2021 at 2:13 PM with the headline "Mileage tax won’t be in Biden infrastructure bill, Buttigieg says after floating idea."
