Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton on Thursday attacked Democratic opponent Xavier Becerra over his willingness to consider a mileage tax, warning it could cost California drivers as much as $1,000 more each year. Hilton accused Democrats of repeatedly raising costs for working families.
“Now we know that with Xavier Becerra as governor, you’ll pay an extra $1,000 a year just for driving your car,” Hilton told the California Post shortly before holding a news conference in Sanger, a Central Valley city, where he promoted his plan to reduce gasoline prices to $3 per gallon.
“They never stop gouging you. First, it’s the highest gas prices in the country, then the highest vehicle registration fees. Now they want to track everywhere you drive and charge up to 10 cents a mile.”
“This is disgusting Democrat elitism at its worst,” Hilton added.
Hilton’s sharp criticism followed remarks from Becerra, a former California attorney general and Biden administration health secretary, who said he was open to taxing motorists based on the number of miles they drive to help finance repairs for the state’s aging roads.
“Everything should be on the table,” Becerra told KCRA’s Ashley Zavala when asked whether he would support a mileage-based tax as governor.
“Our roads aren’t maintained just by some magic wand. We have to pay for it,” Becerra said.
“Do I want to tax people more than necessary? No. Should we pay a gas tax? Yes. Should people who drive electric vehicles, who don’t need gas, pay for those roads to be repaired as well? Absolutely.”
Becerra’s comments gave Hilton a new line of attack just five days before Tuesday’s election. The Republican has made California’s soaring cost of living a central theme of his campaign to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Hilton said a mileage tax would place an unfair burden on Californians already struggling with the cost of housing, fuel and basic necessities.
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“The people who will be hit the hardest are working-class Californians and small-business owners who drive their cars and trucks for work—not the work-from-home climate warriors sitting on their laptops and lecturing the rest of us about how to live,” Hilton said.
California has spent years examining a mileage-based road charge as an alternative to the gas tax. Transportation officials have warned that gasoline-tax revenue will decline as more drivers switch to electric vehicles or choose more fuel-efficient models.
The state’s latest pilot program tested a system that charges motorists according to the distance they travel. A final report is due to lawmakers by the end of the year.
State Assemblymember Carl DeMaio, a San Diego Republican, has warned that a mileage tax could cost drivers between 6 and 9 cents per mile, in addition to existing gasoline and vehicle taxes.
For someone driving 15,000 miles a year, those rates would amount to between $900 and $1,350 in annual charges.
Hilton has pledged to sharply reduce the cost of driving in California by bringing gasoline prices down to $3 per gallon and capping annual vehicle registration fees at $73.
His agenda also calls for eliminating the state gasoline tax, rolling back environmental regulations and increasing domestic oil production—proposals that would require approval from California’s Democratic-controlled Legislature.
Hilton said Thursday that he would also oppose any legislation creating a mileage tax.
“As governor, I will veto the mileage tax,” he said. “This is just another example of how you’ll save with Steve.”
