There’s been talk locally about raising taxes on this, that and the other in order to generate more money for road construction. In the mix is a gas tax hike. While there may be some merit to this, particularly in lieu of those silly abuser fees, it’s important to keep in mind that Virginia pols aren’t the only ones looking at increasing the gas tax:
A congressionally mandated panel yesterday recommended more than doubling the tax, which since 1993 has been set at 18.4 cents a gallon for gasoline and 24.4 cents a gallon for diesel, over five years to boost funding for transportation projects. The panel of public and private experts is hoping that states also will opt for big gas-tax increases.
The panel’s vision would take the U.S. down a more European path, with higher gas taxes and greater investment in high-speed rail and other modes of transportation.
“Nobody likes saying we’ve got to raise taxes,” said Wisconsin Transportation Secretary Frank Busalacchi, who is on the 12-member panel. “But there’s no way we’re going to get there without the gas-tax increase … The country has to come to grips with this.”
(Wisconsin, by the way, has one of the highest gas taxes in the nation.)
That’s not to say that these recommendations are universally welcomed. A minority of the panel, led by Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, argues that:
…the federal role in funding transportation, which is determined by Congress and laden with special-interest projects, is too flawed to warrant expansion. Instead, they suggest, the federal role should shrink and states should rely on toll increases and private investment to supplement the funds they get from gas taxes.
“There is nothing to indicate that Washington would do a better job spending billions more of the taxpayers’ money than it has so far,” Ms. Peters said yesterday. “The answer isn’t more taxes…it is having the courage to say the current system is broken and it is time to find a better way to invest in, manage and operate our transportation system.”
Sounds like Jim Bacon, no?
But there is some evidence that Congress might not be a wise steward of any additional gas tax money. Not long after the bridge collapse in Minneapolis last summer that spurred congressional interest in infrastructure needs, Sen. Tom Coburn put forward a series of amendments to the transportation bill that would have diverted earmarked monies to repair work.
The amendments all failed.
Where the federal debate goes is any one’s guess. It is unlikely, given the current high price of gasoline and the teetering economy, that a gas tax hike will pass in the near future (and that goes double in an election year). But the groundwork has been laid, the first shot fired, etc., etc.
The Solons here in Richmond would be well advised to pay attention to what their federal cousins are up to.