A similar thing happens with the discussion about gas prices, except the schema is reversed. In Europe, infrastructure fees are paid at the pump. In the US, a lot of our income taxes go to paying for those road fees and maintenance.
I was a bit skeptical that road costs took a lot of our income taxes, so I looked it up. It was, at least, more than I thought it'd be. The U.S. will spend $65.3 billion of income tax payments on ground transportation costs in fiscal 2012, at least half of which is on highway costs.
I think pricing for a lot of things has a large component of historical pricing in it.
My favorite example: the price of books in the US and Canada. Just grabbed a random recent hardcover off my shelves. It's labeled "USA $25.95 Canada $32.50". I believe that price differential got established back when the US dollar was worth $1.25 Canadian -- but it still exists, even though the two currencies are now roughly on par. It's the exact same product with what is effectively a 25% markup for Canadians for no good reason.
True, but that's true in the US too. Unless you're suggesting many bookstores in Canada routinely offer a 25% discount on most books, my point still holds.
In theory, yes. But it hasn't been raised since the 90's and since it's a per-gallon tax and not a percent tax, its funding has decreased as Americans buy more efficient cars and thus fewer gallons of gas. I don't have links, but I've seen graphs indicating that the fund regularly runs at a shortfall now, and getting worse.
