Right now, in Washington state, we’re paying 55.9 cents in federal and state taxes for a gallon of gas, the highest in the nation.
What would you say to adding 15 cents to that, raising it to nearly 71 cents a gallon?
That’s one of the ideas proposed by the bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform (http://www.fiscalcommission.gov/).
The panel was appointed by President Obama to address the budget deficit. It’s taken a lot of heat for some of its ideas, released Wednesday, which include ending tax deductions for interest on home mortgages and cutting cost-of-living raises for Social Security.
The commission has other ideas as well, 58 in all, which it estimates would save $200 billion. No decisions have been made to enact any of the suggestions.
Our tendency is to cringe at the thought of higher gas taxes, especially in the current economy. On the flip side, alternative energy and environmental advocates have long suggested higher gas taxes as a way to cut fuel usage, reduce pollution and encourage a transition to cleaner sources.
Fuel taxes, while not a direct pay-for-use for any particular road, are more based on the user fee concept than most taxes. They typically go to maintenance and expansion projects for transportation.
The federal gas tax of 18.4 cents per gallon has not been increased since 1993. The Washington state gas tax of 37.5 cents per gallon was last increased in 2005. The next highest state tax for non-diesel fuel is West Virginia at 32.2.
And predictably, several construction-related trade groups have come out in favor of the proposal.
“We applaud the draft proposal released today by the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform co-chairs to increase the gas tax by 15 cents to support vital transportation infrastructure improvements,” said a statement released Wednesday by the Associated General Contractors of America. The statement was made on behalf of the contractors’ group and 14 other trade associations.
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