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| Motorists' habits spur call for tax increases | |
| 2009-01-04 | |
| 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.
Although the cost of gasoline has dropped dramatically in recent months, such tax increases could be politically treacherous for Democratic leaders in Congress. A gas tax hike was one of the reasons they lost control of the House and Senate in the 1994 elections. President-elect Barack Obama has expressed concern about raising fuel taxes in the current economic climate. | |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #15 and fire every Senate and House aide. Make the bastards read their own bills and do some real work. |
| Posted by: 3dc 2009-01-04 20:37 |
| #14 As you can't have less land, the land value tax is the best. |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2009-01-04 20:30 |
| #13 Tax it and you'll have less of it, subsidize it and you'll have more of it. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2009-01-04 19:11 |
| #12 OP, they did cut one branch of the government by 50% during the 90's. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2009-01-04 14:53 |
| #11 How 'bout we cut funding to GOVERNMENT by half or more, and refuse ANY new taxes? Governments have short memories. Obviously ours doesn't remember that we actually went to war over taxes, not once but several times. Raising taxes when people are already hurting is a sure-fire way to anger them enough to actually DO something. Government behavior needs modifying again. Behavior modification calls for inflicting increasing levels of punishment each time government does something undesirable. Our government does something undesirable about three times a week. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2009-01-04 14:41 |
#10 A 50% increase! We've seen this grift before:Request 50% increase "for our children's roads" |
| Posted by: regular joe 2009-01-04 11:44 |
| #9 "Motorists' habits spur call for tax increases" Everything spurs a call for tax increases with gummint wankers. >:-( |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2009-01-04 10:27 |
| #8 Special tax on overusing caps? Boy, Joe would be bankrupt in a week... |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2009-01-04 08:43 |
| #7 Next step will be charging internet users by the character sent or received. Special tax on overusing caps? |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2009-01-04 08:35 |
| #6 Make every road a toll road. Next step will be charging internet users by the character sent or received. |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2009-01-04 08:15 |
| #5 Snark all you want. This is yet another attempt to transfer hard earned wealth from the pockets of ordinary citizens struggling to make ends meet to the coffers of a bloated tyrant known as government. The only economic entity of any size which has consistently refused to hold down its costs is government, and this new proposal takes the massive disparity between what taxes are and they should be new heights. |
| Posted by: badanov 2009-01-04 07:52 |
| #4 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. Wheeeeew.... it's only a TEMPORARY tax. I was begining to get worried. But wait, there's more. Could the downturn in manufacturing (shipping good by truck) also account for the "loss" in tax revenue? I blame truckers! What about shopping at home on the computer? Some folks are now walking to work. What about those taxfree sidewalks? Then there's those gummit workers who Slug to the Pentagon and don't pay anything. Shouldn't they be required to have a Slugging license? |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2009-01-04 06:43 |
| #3 Similar to those who complain about the loss of cigarette tax revenue. Also why are transit programs not paying for themselves. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2009-01-04 00:41 |
| #2 It's a way to combat global warming, your Lordship. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2009-01-04 00:31 |
| #1 If they raise the tax, it will cause the price of things to go up, people will drive less and buy less, causing taxes to go up to make up revenue, which will cause the prices of things to go up, people will drive less, etc., etc. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2009-01-04 00:04 |