My home state of North Carolina is considering levying yet another tax,

With gas-tax revenues plummeting, the state of North Carolina is looking seriously at taxing motorists for how far they drive.

If the "road-use tax" is implemented, it would at first be simple - with the state checking your odometer annually and taxing you based on how many miles you have driven. But transportation experts say new GPS technology could allow the state to charge people different rates based on when and where they drive, in an attempt to manage congestion.

Talk of a Vehicle Miles Traveled tax has long been discussed as a necessity in a decade or so, because cars are becoming more fuel efficient, and states and the federal government are losing gas-tax revenue.

But there is now a sense of urgency about the new VMT tax. When gas hit $4 a gallon this summer, Americans sharply curtailed their driving. And when the economy cratered this fall, the driving rollback continued, even when gas prices plummeted.

The 21st Century Transportation Committee suggested that, in addition to the gas tax, motorists pay a quarter-cent for each mile they drive, with the first 2,000 miles annually free. A motorist who drives 12,000 miles a year would pay $25 - possibly due when the driver gets the car inspected.

It's bad enough that they hit you with a gas tax. Now, they want to add a mileage tax on top of it? Then, for their next trick, they'll want to track every car, everywhere it goes, and the times it's being driven? That's right out of a George Orwell novel and let me be the first to say that it's also invasive, creepy, and completely inappropriate.

It's none of the government's business where or when Americans are driving their cars and the whole idea of the government taxing people more based on the time of day that they're driving is asinine.

The government has its fingers in too many pies as is, so it needs to keep from sticking its grubby mitts deeper into our cars.

Hat tip to Michelle Malkin for the story.