GPS Will Track Dutch Drivers for Per-Mile Tax

The Dutch government plans to bring the polluter-pays principle into the home garage. Rather than an annual road tax for their cars, drivers will soon pay a small sum for every mile on the road—a plan aimed at breaking chronic traffic jams and cutting carbon emissions. GPS devices installed in cars will track the time, hour, and place each car moves and send the data to a billing agency.

The plan takes effect in 2012. Instead of paying a road tax of about $900 per year, the owner of an average passenger car will pay .07 cents per mile, with higher charges levied during rush hour and for traveling on congested roads. Trucks, commercial vehicles, and bigger cars emitting more carbon dioxide will be assessed at a higher rate. (More Netherlands stories.)