by Mary Rose Corkery
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Monday that a mileage tax won’t be included in President Joe Biden’s infrastructure proposal.
Buttigieg told CNN anchor Jake Tapper the tax is “not part of the conversation about this infrastructure bill,” despite floating the idea of taxing people based on how far they drive last week.
“So just want to make sure that 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,” Buttigieg said. “And again, these are carefully thought-through responsible ideas that ultimately are going to be a win for the economy and need to be compared to the unaffordable cost of the status quo.”
Buttigieg suggested a mileage tax for vehicles on March 26 as a way to pay the president’s anticipated infrastructure bill during an interview with CNBC’s Kayla Tausche.
A mileage tax “shows a lot of promise,” Buttigieg said. “If we believe in that so-called ‘user-pays principle’: the idea that part of how we pay for roads is you pay based on how much you drive. The gas tax used to be the obvious way to do it. It’s not anymore.”
The president’s team was reportedly intending to introduce a proposal, which covers jobs and infrastructure and amounts to $3 trillion, last week, according to reports.
Buttigieg said Monday the Biden administration will be sharing additional information “in the coming days about how to pay” for the anticipated bill.
“One thing I will do is reiterate the president’s commitment that his proposals will not raise taxes at all on anyone making under $400,000 a year,” Buttigieg told Tapper.
The former South Bend, Indiana mayor told Tapper that the gas tax also won’t go up to pay for the infrastructure proposal.
“If you’re making less than $400,000 a year, this proposal will not involve a tax increase for you,” Buttigieg said.
– – –
Mary Rose Corkery is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.
