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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices
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To: Alighieri who wrote (625043)8/18/2011 2:27:20 PM
From: tejek  Read Replies (2) of 1579927
 
Have We Seen the Last of the Federal Gas Tax?

Politico recently brought to our attention the possibility that lawmakers may let most the 18.4-cent federal gas tax expire at the end of September. Now it reports that this possibility has real legs — something we’ll all need if the tax is allowed to expire and the country’s roads lose their primary source of funding:

“The White House is going to make a move to renew it. We’ll see — but there will be Republicans who will be resistant to that.” said Doug Heye, former spokesman for the Republican National Committee. …

Already, a handful of conservative groups are eyeing the expiration as the next potential front in the spending and tax fight — including Grover Norquist’s influential Americans for Tax Reform group — but are mum about any potential legislative strategy.

“In general, ATR has always supported the idea of ending the federal tax on gas and having states pay for their own roads,” Norquist told POLITICO, but he declined to say whether he or his group plans to pressure congressional Republicans to let the excise tax expire.

“ATR would love to help begin such a dialogue,” he said.

The federal gas tax populates the Highway Trust Fund that pays for the construction and maintenance of America’s roads. According to House Transportation Chair John Mica, the fund is on track to go broke by 2013 under current spending levels. A major reason the coffers are dwindling is that Congress has not raised the gas tax since 1993, despite the fact that America has, by global standards, relatively low gas prices.

So what will happen to U.S. highways if the federal tax expires? In theory not much. CNN Money reports that if states lost their federal road cushion they “would presumably make up for the loss of federal funds by increasing their own gas tax” and handling all road work themselves. That might be fine if states had efficient transportation programs — but the most recent research suggests that states don’t invest in their highways as wisely as one might hope. It also creates potential problems for less populated states whose roads are used by commercial truckers who pay the gas tax elsewhere.

In the end most believe Congress will extend the tax after all, writes the Washington Post. High(ish) gas prices may be unpopular, but so are crumbling roads. And while several other ideas for road have been tossed around by transportation experts — a vehicle-miles tax, congestion pricing, and the newly developed Federal Interstate User Fee among them — these range from off the Congressional radar to even less popular than the gas tax.

infrastructurist.com
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