What “new tax” do cities like Seattle, San Diego, Los Angeles and New York have in mind for taxpayers these days? According to an interview of San Diego, CA Supervisor Kristin Gaspar, taxpayers need to be aware of a little known secret emerging in cities and states around the country and world. City and state governments are seriously discussing a black box and data tracker in every vehicle that transports you. In 2013, 96% of every new car sold in the United States came with a black box, and as of Sept. 1, 2014, every new vehicle must have one installed. The black box in automobiles today has a data tracking system to track your every move. Kristin Gaspar explains during her televised interview on KUSI that we have already been paying for transit taxes to cover road reparations; we also have a gas tax, and now the government wants to tax you again on traffic congestion to pay for transit repairs.

Kristin Gaspar reminds us that our local and state governments have not delivered on their original promise to fix roads. In fact, our local and state governments have run out of money and are coming back to taxpayers for more money. Currently, San Diego, CA government officials at SANDAG are discussing adding a congestion tax to drivers and she wants you to be aware they are quietly moving forward.  SANDAG wants to add a “congestion tax” to prevent drivers in San Diego County from driving into main thoroughfares during rush hours. They will do this by charging a congestion tax that charges drivers for the use of roads in highly congested urban areas to limit traffic jams.

City and state governments are actively considering having you pay every time you get into your car as they track your every move. Gaspar states these government initiatives are unknown to many, including that the State of California instituted a pilot program on tracking drivers. You will find it interesting viewing the report on congestion pricing as city and state governments have spent considerable time studying how to tax drivers for years now. Apparently, congestion tax works as studies show the tax has  lessens the amount of  travel during heavy traffic hours.

New York City is planning to implement a tolling system for Manhattan’s central business district as soon as 2021 and is expected to charge drivers more than $10 a day. The tax is expected to help repair New York City’s subway system.  Since 2003, London charges drivers about $15 a day to enter its Central District from 7:00AM to 6:00PM on weekdays. Now you understand why those cab fares have risen when you are in London. Stockholm, Sweden has a transit tax that has cut traffic by 20% and pollution by 10%. Singapore has the most advanced congestion pricing in the world. The city-state uses an electric FasTrack system that charges drivers fluctuating prices according to the levels of traffic. Cities around the world are steadily adopting transit taxes to increase revenue.

While governments are quietly figuring out how to cover their overhead with more tax revenue, TaxConnections is creating virtual offices for the tax and legal profession which also keeps more people off the road and paying less in taxes. Time is precious and with TaxConnections Virtual Offices, every member of our community will have their office anywhere they go in the palm of their hand on their mobile phone without being stuck in traffic.

We invite tax and legal professionals to join us today as we take you ahead of competitors with a Tax Professional Membership.