Here’s a better oil tax plan for Obama to consider

President Obama recently proposed a $10 tax on a barrel of oil, the money to be used for … who the hell knows what. Ostensibly, the dough would go to improve highways and such.

The proposal will never be approved the way the president structured it. But an idea I came up with a few years ago, along the same lines, is better and might meet with bipartisan approval.

My idea: When the price of gasoline falls below a certain price, Uncle Sam gets one third of the decline in the form of a tax increase.

Let’s say the trigger point is fuel at $1.75 a gallon, all taxes included.

If the national average price falls 6 cents to $1.69 a gallon — where it is in many parts of the country — the government gets a 2 cent-a-gallon tax increase and the other 4 cents get passed on to motorists.

So, instead of $1.69, drivers will pay $1.71.

Why is this better? Because the government’s take is invisible to drivers. Plus, it puts Washington on the same side as us in wanting lower gas prices.

Separately, I proposed — like billionaire Carl Icahn — that American companies with profits from international businesses be allowed to bring those earnings back to the US at a reduced tax rate.

The tax collected under this program, together with the additional fuel dollars, should be enough to fill some potholes and maybe fix a few bridges before they fall down.