Indiana House Republicans called today for higher taxes on gas and cigarettes to help meet Indiana's long-term transportation needs. Their plan calls for raising the state tax on gasoline by four cents a gallon to 22 cents a gallon and adding a $1 per pack tax for a pack of cigarettes. Their plan also calls for redirecting all of the state sales tax collected on the sale of gas to the state's road fund. Revenues raised from the cigarette tax would be used to help offset funds lost by the state's general revenue fund as a result of redirecting sales taxes from gasoline sales.
An earlier plan proposed by Gov. Mike Pence called for more highway spending without raising taxes. The governor's plan relied entirely on redirecting sales tax revenues generated from gasoline sales to the state's road fund. An unpopular plan to possibly toll some interstate highways to pay for road improvements would be studied under the proposal announced by House Republicans today.
Tolling an optional third lane, an Express Lane, based on EZPASS or license plate tolling (no toll booths) like Colorado does on a small stretch of I-70 in the mountain corridor, seems sensible. Tolling everyone all the time will never work. But, an Express Lane, for a fee? Never say never.
ReplyDeleteI received a legislative survey from Cindy Kirchofer asking whether I supported higher gasoline taxes to be used exclusively for the repair of Indiana bridges, to which I responded no. I don't want the general assembly to take advantage of lower price per barrel costs for oil by imposing higher taxes. The State of Indiana can find the money it needs for maintaining roads and bridges by tightening our belt and cutting pork project spending, line by line. For a start, how about cutting the money Pence spends on restoring his image after doing stupid governor stuff. He doesn't need public relations. He just needs to pull his bible out of our faces and run the State like a business not a church. I'd like to see the IU Business School take a sharp pencil to our state budget.
ReplyDeleteCute idea. But, have you looked around at the gas tax in other states? Ours is unusually low.......
DeleteIndiana has sales & gas tax on gasoline- wow! Indiana suffers from tax & spend Republi-can'ts...
ReplyDeleteSounds like what Maryland did - toll the center lanes with a higher speed limit - on I-95 north of Baltimore.
ReplyDeleteThe hedge-islature is reportedly considering some toll road conversions of existing IN roads. One of their excuses for raising rates is a flimsy rationale that alternative fuel use has actually "impacted" sales; nevermind their collection rates on coal, etc.
ReplyDeleteGreat. My Man Mitch sold the toll roads for billions for many years to come. Why are we wanting raise taxes with all the billions from the toll road? We need an investigation into this. Where is the toll road money going or gone too?
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