re: Oregon Passes Nation's First Bicycle Tax

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-but tax the bikes to help pay for the infrastructure they will use...

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like roads...?

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and in places like parts of Portland where its considered the most "cyclist" friendly in the country, there are likely a larger amount of people who get around with out a car.

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90% still own cars

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Wait until they start taxing Prius' and other fuel efficient electric hybrids because they aren't paying enough gas tax. You know it's coming... Gas tax revenue will decrease as cars get more fuel efficient

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Well yeah, fuel taxes are supposed to be a rough proxy for road use, so that more road use equates to more taxes paid to build and maintain them. They are more efficient to administer than toll roads everywhere, so they make a lot of sense ASSUMING all vehicles use roughly the same amount of fuel.

When the assumption is no longer true, you have to make adjustments. Why would anyone have a problem with this? Why is it seen as a money grab, rather than the solution to a real problem?

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like roads...?

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LOL, more like the actual painted, separated bike trails and paths that are on those roads....you know, the paths that are marked SOLELY for bikes in cities that are bike friendly, you know, the parts of ASSphalt that cars cannot drive on.

Still takes money to build and maintain that infrastructure that is use ONLY for bikes. I don't have a bike so i don't give a crap. Maybe you do and are bitter about it. But i don't like bikes holding up traffic because they have to be on the same road as me...I have to veer into oncoming traffic to avoid them. It's stupid. Tax the idiots that want to pedal a bike around dump trucks to build them a safer place to ride. I don't want to pay for it...they should.

I'm just not a fan of more taxes. The vast majority of people using those bike lanes, also use the regular roads and pay taxes for those roads.

Just because you don't use a public service doesn't mean others that do should be taxed more for it.

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I'm just not a fan of more taxes.

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It's not necessarily "more taxes" just because it's a new tax. Why not just look at fuel taxes (or bike taxes) as "transportation infrastructure taxes"?

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The vast majority of people using those bike lanes, also use the regular roads and pay taxes for those roads.

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But if they're using their motor vehicles less, they're burning less fuel and paying less in taxes for using the roads. Granted, they're putting less wear and tear on the roads by riding bikes, but they still need to be built in the first place.

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If you don't like it, move

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I don't live there. I just saw the story and thought it was fascinating. The hippies had no problem with a new gas tax but when the state democrats came up with a new way to make money by taxing Oregons large cycling community they started crying

I just wanted to step in to point out that targeted/earmarked taxes are easily one of the dumbest things populations have been suckered in to thinking are good.

There is literally no logical reason that can be put forward for why they make sense.

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Oregonians will just buy their bicycles out of state.

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No, they won't. Every state close enough to go to has a sales tax. Oregon doesn't. People will continue to come to Oregon to buy stuff. Including bicycles.