Motorists' habits spur call for tax increases

[Midnight Mike]

Motorists are driving less and buying less gasoline, which means fuel taxes aren't raising enough money to keep pace with the cost of road, bridge and transit programs.

A federal commission created by Congress to find a way to make up the growing revenue shortfall in the program that funds highway repairs and construction is talking about increasing federal gas and diesel taxes.

A roughly 50 percent increase in gasoline and diesel fuel taxes is being urged by the commission until the government devises another way for motorists to pay for using public roads.

The 15-member National Commission on Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing is the second group in a year to call for increasing the current 18.4 cents a gallon federal tax on gasoline and the 24.4 cents a gallon tax on diesel. State fuel taxes vary from state to state.

In a report expected in late January, members of the infrastructure financing commission say they will urge Congress to raise the gas tax by 10 cents a gallon and the diesel tax by about 12 cents to 15 cents a gallon. At the same time, the commission will recommend tying the fuel tax rates to inflation.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090102/ap_on_go_ot/gas_tax

[Idlewild]

Disgraceful.

[stuart schechter]

It's a Catch 22, when they raise the prices, less people will drive, income will drop and they will increase the taxes again....

[lijk604]

Gas jumped $0.14/gal yesterday alone. WTF?
I went into work and the station I was going to go to that night was at $1.65/gal, on the way home I stopped there and it was $1.79/gal! I noticed a lot of the same all along Rte109. Shameful...

[moose135]

Gas jumped $0.14/gal yesterday alone. WTF?
I went into work and the station I was going to go to that night was at $1.65/gal, on the way home I stopped there and it was $1.79/gal! I noticed a lot of the same all along Rte109. Shameful...

You mean all those little independent "no-name" stations? They have always been priced way below the mainstream stations, and I wonder if they were in a bit of "price war" among themselves. For most of the brand-name places I've seen the past few days (in the $1.75 - $1.90 range) I haven't seen any appreciable differences.

[T-Bird76]

ARE you F#@KING kidding me....! They want to raise the price per gallon by increasing the tax rate after we were rapped as badly as we were this summer... Really there’s no word to describe how anyone with any shred of what's going on in the economy can suggest that kind of tax increase. Our Gov't just doesn't work anymore...

[Matt Molnar]

In addition to a potential hike in the federal tax, Gov. Paterson's budget calls for removal of the state's 8 cents per gallon tax cap, which would allow the legislature to raise it to whatever they want.