Proposed mileage tax targets ruralites

The Vehicle Miles Travelled tax, or VMT, is once again raising its ugly head in Olympia in the form of House Bill 1832. It has been rebranded the “Road Usage Charge” (RUC), a more benign term, one that supporters hope will breeze by an unsuspecting public keen to reject any bill with the word “tax” in it.

But it is a tax; a new tax on the miles you and I travel. And, while the bill talks about it being voluntary for now, the general authority granted to state agencies to create the tax is not limited to just a voluntary program.

In other words, this program starts with “you can if you want,” b...