California and San Diego County’s newest tax proposal: Vehicle Miles Traveled

SAN DIEGO (KUSI) – This week, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors held a workshop about a new tax idea, Vehicle Miles Traveled.

The Vehicle Miles Traveled concept is the latest result of the state’s efforts to get us out of our cars, and instead begin using public transit more frequently.

As we know, public transit is a very inefficient method of travel, as it takes way to long to get to and from destinations. But, those in support of building more transit say that is why we need to raise taxes to fund more projects.

County Supervisor Jim Desmond voted against SANDAG’s Regional Transportation Plan, that included a variety of new tax hikes, which are said to fund the $163 billion bill.

Now, Democrats on the County Board of Supervisors are trying to implement a Vehicle Miles Traveled tax, as a result of SB 743 (below).

Republican County Supervisor Jim Desmond is strongly against it, and warns it will affect San Diegans greatly. Essentially, the idea is to raise the tax rate on new development based on the average Vehicle Miles Traveled for the residents. Meaning, it will cost much more money to build housing.

Under the Vehicle Miles Traveled proposal, housing developers will be taxed an additional $10,000 to $22,000 per mile. The longer the average drive of tenants in the development is, the more they will be taxed.

In the middle of a housing crisis where prices are skyrocketing, many are questioning why this tax would be supported, but Democrats believe getting people to drive less is much more important because of “climate change.”

The San Diego County website explains;

“On June 24, 2020, the Board of Supervisors (Board) approved thresholds for land development projects within the County to meet new California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requirements under Senate Bill 743 (SB 743) for Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT). Under SB 743, CEQA analysis can no longer use road congestion or the amount of time a driver is delayed on the road – commonly measured by level of service (LOS) – when analyzing transportation impacts. Therefore, instead of using LOS, a project’s environmental impacts must be evaluated by the amount and distance people drive to destinations.”

Supervisor Jim Desmond explained the Vehicle Miles Traveled tax and why he’s against it in more detail with KUSI’s Paul Rudy on Good Morning San Diego.

Before the interview ended, Supervisor Desmond also touched on the great news that San Pasqual Academy was reopening.