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Politics : GOPwinger Lies/Distortions/Omissions/Perversions of Truth -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: jlallen who wrote (51317)	6/30/2005 11:25:22 AM
From: American Spirit	Respond to of 173976

Bushie Privatization Of Highways - New Hidden Taxes Coming (* This is a template for how Bushies deregulate corps to gouge us while lowering our federal taxes. The end result? We pay more. Also note billions of extra costs in Iraq privatizing our military. What's next?) FEATURE-US Congress seen paving way for private toll roads Thu Jun 30, 2005 9:33 AM ET Printer Friendly \| Email Article \| Reprints \| RSS (Page 1 of 3) By Daniel Sorid SAN FRANCISCO, June 30 (Reuters) - The next road you travel -- and pay a toll to use -- could be privately owned. Looking for ways to finance highway projects without hitting the public trough, the U.S. Congress appears set to pass a proposal to encourage private ownership of new toll roads. The provision, part of the highway spending bill now being hammered out by a Senate and House conference committee, would allow private companies to raise up to $15 billion for highway projects with bonds that are exempt from federal income taxes. While the proposal has broad support in Washington and the business community, the idea of private highways has incited grassroots opposition in some states, with some saying the government -- not a profit-seeking company -- is the proper owner of the public's roads. Toll road owners such as Spain's Cintra (CCIT.MC: Quote, Profile, Research) and Australia's Macquarie Infrastructure Group (MIG.AX: Quote, Profile, Research) stand to benefit from the move to private infrastructure bonds, since their tax-exempt status would keep interest rates and funding costs low. The move would also bring lucrative fees to Wall Street banks and others for underwriting and trading tax-exempt debt. "The time has come for this," Sen. Jim Talent, a Missouri Republican who co-sponsored the proposal, said in a telephone interview. "I think we have an excellent chance of the $15 billion bond issue coming out of conference." MAJOR SHIFT While highway spending has traditionally been the government's responsibility, many states faced with tight budgets have given corporations the right to build, operate and maintain roads. States have the right to regulate toll rates or limit profits, but generally give operators wide latitude to run the roads as they see fit, which concerns some commuters. Texas, California and Virginia are among the states at the forefront of the movement, one of the most significant changes to the interstate highway network since its inception in the 1950s. Continued ...