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Some States in a Pinch May Raise Gasoline Tax
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Issue
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| Contributor | ArmyDem |
| Last Edited | ArmyDem Jan 13, 2009 09:48pm |
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| Category | News |
| Media | Newspaper - New York Times |
| News Date | Wednesday, January 14, 2009 03:00:00 AM UTC0:0 |
| Description | By KATE GALBRAITH
Published: January 13, 2009
Several states are considering the rare step of raising gasoline taxes to help fill growing budget gaps and potholed roads.
Politicians in California, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Illinois and Oregon, for example, are introducing bills that would raise gasoline taxes for road and bridge repair, as state legislatures around the country begin their new sessions.
In Iowa, top legislators in both houses would support an increase. And in Ohio, a state task force last week recommended raising the gas tax by 13 cents a gallon.
There are political risks in raising taxes of any kind, and legislators have been loath to raise their gas taxes, which are imposed in every state but Alaska. In many states, gas taxes have not been raised for more than a decade and they often are not indexed to inflation.
“I’ve opposed virtually every revenue enhancer in terms of tax increases up to this point,” said John E. Bradley, an Illinois state representative who is chairman of the House Revenue Committee.
This year, he is introducing a bill with a motor-fuel surcharge of 8 cents a gallon. He was persuaded to change his stance, he said, because of the urgent needs of Illinois roads and highways.
State lawmakers clearly see an opportunity to push through a tax. The recent sharp drop in gasoline prices, to less than half of last summer’s high of more than $4 a gallon, means that drivers may be less hesitant to pay slightly higher prices.
For states, acute revenue shortfalls, combined with years of rising construction costs and a backlog of projects, are forcing difficult choices between raising taxes or imposing drastic cuts. |
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