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There are approximately 223 million Americans over the age of 18. According to National Transportation Statistics, there are approximately 210 million motorists in the U.S., which means that most Americans over 18 have a driver's license. They pay for personal vehicles, roadways, insurance, traffic accident investigations, etc. Ultimately, they even pay for the environmental damage done by their vehicles. But they don't see the full cost of driving at the pump. I have argued that they should, but it is a political non-starter.     Motorists pay income taxes, property taxes, sales taxes, excise taxes, fuel taxes, license fees, etc. These monies go to a dedicated fund, i.e. fuel taxes to highway funds, or they go to a general fund. To the extent that the fuel taxes don't cover the cost of driving, monies are withdrawn from the general fund(s) to cover the shortfall. Although federal and state highways are funded for the most part by fuel taxes, license fees, vehicle taxes, sales taxes, etc., local streets and county roads are funded for the most part from property taxes, sales taxes, etc., which are paid directly or indirectly by practically everyone. Car owners pay the costs of driving. Given the numbers of motorists, as a percentage of the population, where do those who argue that they don't pay the cost of driving think that the money comes from?  Ultimately, its comes from the majority of the people who own and operate personal vehicles. However, there is a form of cross subsidy in motoring. In FY09, which is the latest year for complete IRS data, 46 per cent of Americans filing a federal income tax return did not pay any federal income tax.  Accordingly, they did not contribute any monies to the general fund from which funds were drawn to cover the shortfall in the Highway Trust Fund. The monies for the general fund(s) came from those who paid federal income taxes, with a significantly higher percentage coming from those with Adjusted Gross Income of more than $100,000.  Moreover, as an example, high income people pay more in most other taxes, i.e. property, sales, excise, etc., than folks who are not so well off. This is the reason they are subsidizing driving for lower income people, i.e. more money for local streets, county roads, traffic policing, etc.  And yes, more money for cleaning up the environmental damage caused by the pollution generated from vehicles.
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