Update: Illinois vehicle mileage tax!

The Democrat sponsored proposal would institute a ‘new milage tax’ that would force motorists to pay additional taxes for each mile driven.

Background: The proposal would also require Illinois motorists to put tracking devices on their vehicles to report mileage to state officials, or submit to regular reporting of their mileage to Illinois officials on a regular basis.

This proposal, a pilot plan, was sponsored by Chicago Democrat Sen. Ram Villivalam (pictured on the left, Pritzker on the right)

The bill was aimed to deal with declining gas tax revenue due to increasing fuel efficiency and the rise of electric vehicles

The good news: the bill (senate Bill 1938) did not pass in the spring legislative session in Springfield.

The bad news: the bill is not dead, it’s been referred to “assignments” and could come back. The bill has not been withdrawn.

More info: The senate bill proposed a pilot program for a mileage-based tax on drivers

The program would have studied the feasibility of collecting road usage data and payments from voluntary participants.

However, pilot programs, such as this often turn permanent. 

In illinois, this could eventually lead to much higher taxes, and of course, having your vehicle location tracked by state officials.