Evening star., 1915-05-02

automobile users point of view. Re-
garding the other possible sources OF
revenue, small tax on motor cycles,
recently decided upon, will be in ac-
cordance with justice and, although
these machines do not apprec1aoly DAM
age the roads, the riders make much
use Of the convenience of the high
ways and the larger majority OF Cyclists
pay little or nothing for such use.
Horsepower Poor Basis.
"As regards motor cars. though they
pay proportionately more than other
vehicles. there is a good deal to be
said for the popular idea that they
should pay more than they do at pres
ent toward the damage which they
cause Various ingenious schemes have
been put forward for taxing gasoline.
tires or the vehicles themselves by
weight. seating capacity. instead OF the
present system-namely, by horse
power only. Regarding horsepower.
most unsatisfactory standard to take
as a basis, for even experts themselves
are still cropping in the dark to fnd a
satisfactory basis upon which the
power of the internal combustion en-
gine can be calculated. Such sys-
tenn will inevitably become obsolete in
a few years as further developments
and alterations in the explosive engine
take place. And in such method
electric and steam have had to be
taxed upon an entirely different basis.
But it must be confessed that taxa
tion by weight alone has not proven
to be satisfactory, as weight alone is
probably not good criterion. for.
whether the matter be looked at from
the point of view of the ability of
the owner to pay or the mileage COW
cred in the year or of the destructive
qualities of the vehicle upon. the road
weight alone is'a very imperfect guide:
More than a century ago the laws of
England recognized this, and by an act
of parliament it was provided that tolls
should vary in accordance with the
width of the tires upon the wheels, a
very sensible provision. The effect was
to encourage broad tires, for there is
nothing more destructive to the roads
today than the heavily laden. narrow
steel tired vehicle. which pays a totally
inadequate proportion for the harm it
does to the highway.
To Encourage Broad Tires.
There are precedents, therefore, for
varying taxation SO as to encourage
broad tires on vehicles designed to
carry heavy loads Indeed, the whole
question of the width of tires on vehi-
cles is one which ought to be consid-
cred by the legislature in resurveying
poses. In theory. at any rate, a com
blnation of factors should be taken into
consideration. and it is well to discuss
how different methods would work. AS
regards gasoline tax. the authorities
have already pointed out good and suf-
fcient reasons why such a proposition
would be a difficult one to carry out in
practice. To begin with, gasoline is
used in many other trades, such as for
dyeing and cleaning and for other pur-
poses, and it would obviously be un-
fair to tax such trades for purpose
totally unconnected with their indus
try. Moreover, the only way by which
it would be possible to collect such a
tax would be by forbidding the sale Of
gasoline in any form for motor cars
except in special packages.
IF tires were taken a basis of
motor car taxation. great difficulties
would present themselves. A broad
tire does infinitely less harm to the
road than narrow one, while pneu-
matte tires are admitted to be less de-
structive to road surfaces than those
of solid rubber, which, in their turn are
better from road point of view than
plain iron or steel rims. 1t is, therefore,
desirable from the point Of view of the
road, to encourage the use of big
pneumatic tires and undesirable to put
any percentage taxation upon the price
of tires, this would encourage the
use of smaller. cheaper and more de-
structive tires. On the other hand.
there is much to be said for a special
tax on tires which are fitted with steel
studs. as these. necessary as they may
be for slippery surfaces in cities, such
on asphalt or wood pavements, are
a rule in the country merely an in
centive to the driver to take undue
risks at corners and encourage the
tearing up of the roads. But great
revenue could not be raised from this
source alone, and thus the question is
turned back in the direction OF tax,
t. 1,A 81 r.
primarily Of weight, and afterward
on moro variable factors. such as seat
ing capacity as we'll as horsepower, the
present basis. all combined.
Unfairness Is Inevitable.
'Tt is Impossible, however. to insure
that any tax shall be absolutely fair in
all it's incidents, but by levying the
several taxes above suggested. no class
of traffic could escape payment of some
share larger than at present toward
road upkeep. However, any change in
the present system will provoke siren
uous opposition from all classes of road
users.
Moreover, it is clear that If the sys-
tenn of taxation for road upkeep is al
tered, a new system Of road manage
ment will also before long become in
evitable as we'll. The question of tax
alton for road purposes is, moreover,
inextricably bound up with reform of
local taxation generally. and the whole
question of the appropriations made by
the legislature toward local expendl-
lures. But to sum up the arguments.
an effort has been made to show that d
larger share of the expenses of road
upkeep should be paid by the actual
road user. whether he owns mechanical
or horse-driven vehicles"