Gas tax may be next Tea Party target
 

No dog in the fight but this is interesting. Gas tax may be next Tea Party target - Aug. 4, 2011

I mean this could be good and bad.. States like NJ may have to increase the tax over what the fed govt had because we have so many roads, and so many roads that need to be repaired. States like Montana will probably need less of a tax, because their roads arent as abused...

but on the other side of the argument, states might be able to allocate funds more efficiently than the fed government can-- I guess time will tell..

Btw, i think GM CEO would disagree with the tea partiers--

GM CEO call for $1 gas tax hike - Jun. 7, 2011

I think that gas has become too much of an indicator to economic well being - specifically having cheap gas. A hike would cause too much of a wave, but another indirect tax (property tax on cars, tolls, etc.) would probably be more of an effective way to get our roads fixed. You can tell the difference between SC and GA roads, along with an 80 cent hike in prices.

It doesn't seem very efficient to tax ownership of a vehicle, instead of something more directly related to the damage to roads caused by vehicles. Heavier, less efficient vehicles damage the roads more. And they consume more fuel. Your fuel tax is down by a factor of 9 or 10 from when it was introduced 18 years ago, simply due to inflation. To maintain the roads at the same rate as as in 1993 would require that the $0.18 per gallon tax be raised by that factor. No surprise that there are so many potholes and so much road congestion.

GM's proposal would make fuel more expensive, but it would also eliminate many federal regulations mandating fuel efficient vehicles, letting the market take care of it.

An alternative would be to introduce road usage fees, per mile, based on the weight of the vehicle. But that sounds like a harder sell, and more expensive to collect, than a fuel tax.

My only reasoning to not tax fuel, would be that it has become such a market indicator. It isn't, and the difference between 3.099 and 3.129 gas is only that CNN and Fox can talk about it. I merely said get it from somewhere else. My home state has high sales, excise and gas tax, versus SC where I live now which has almost none except property tax on the car. Then again, SC roads are probably the worst that aren't subject to winters in the civilized world so there goes my argument.

I'm a strong proponent of a substantially higher fuel tax. Given how many more cars are on the road today (creating wear and tear) and the lack of maintenance (or patchwork maintenance) done on roads today, there needs to be MUCH more funding for proper road repair and construction. I occasionally grumble about NC's fuel tax but the roads there actually are well-maintained.

That said, I feel the taxation needs to collected more at the state level, although both state and federal taxes should rise. Road responsibility varies by state, but states like NC and VA* are responsible for building and maintaining all public roads including rural and secondary highways; the two states have the 1st and 3rd most state-owned mileage of roadways in the nations respectively. Given how much there is to maintain, I feel that a higher tax is the most effective way of ensuring that roads aren't neglected (like I-85 in Virginia :banghead:)

*Technicality: All roads in VA except those in the 39 independent cities and Henrico and Arlington County

Do you not pay road tax overthere as we do in the UK?

Not directly, it's built into taxes on gasoline, licensing fees, etc.

What do you mean licensing fees ? is that not similar to ras tax? I pay £215 a year road tax which is about $353.... We then pay £1.38p per ltr of fuel which is again about $2.27, not sure on the exchange rate.:confused:

License fee is usually a flat charge for an annual license plate renewal. It can vary for commerical vehicles, and heavy trucks, but other than that it is typically a flat tax, and is essentially an admin fee.

UK road tax is based on year of manufacture, emissions, fuel type, etc (going from memory here). It is a graduated tax intended to influence a purchaser's choice of vehicles as I recall.