Kimberley A. Strassel, The GOP Wants to Tax Your Car (Wall Street Journal, May 28, 2026)

Campaign slogans can be catchy, clumsy or clever. Few are as crazy as the one Republicans are setting themselves up for this fall: “Vote GOP. The party that brought you a national car tax.”

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee laid the groundwork last week in passing a five-year reauthorization of transportation programs. Greedy for more “infrastructure” dollars to shower on home states in a midterm and unwilling to raise the gasoline tax, Republicans conjured up a new revenue stream: the first-ever federal “annual registration fee” for vehicles. How bad is this policy, and how big a political trap? All but one committee Democrat voted for the bill—with unrestrained glee.

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