Free Republic

States are scrambling to figure out how to keep making money to funnel into road maintenance amid economic struggles in President Joe Biden’s (D) America. Officials have historically spent gas taxes on roadways, but “the problem that has developed is those taxes are generating less each year due to inflation, fuel efficiency and the rise of electric cars,” Fox Business reported Sunday. Now, state officials are hoping to somehow replace those taxes, and charging drivers by the mile and not the gallon in the future is one among several proposals

Last year, before the 2022 midterm elections, California Governor Gavin Newsom decided that taxpayers should receive a Gas Tax refund payment. In his infinite wisdom, His Hairfulness decided that instead of listening to the demands to suspend the excessive gas taxes in the state to alleviate people’s pain at the pump, he’d give away money that the state really didn’t have in a one-time, temporary measure.A one-time check that taxpayers didn’t ask for, in an amount and time that did little to alleviate the pain—what could go wrong?Well, the state Franchise Tax Board won’t require taxes be paid on the...

What the heck are we going to do about the sky-high price of gasoline? I know that everyone is feeling it right now… It’s one of the most pressing questions in the current economic environment. And no, a three-month holiday on the federal gasoline tax won’t solve the problem. Here’s how the costs of gasoline (& diesel) break down: As we can see above, taxes make up only 11% of the total price of a gallon of gasoline. And the federal gas tax is just 18.4 cents. For a 25-gallon tank, that amounts to a mere $4.60 savings. That’s enough...

The nationwide average for gas prices currently sits at $4.98 a gallon.. Joe Biden said Monday he is considering creating a federal gas tax holiday, which could save Americans as much as 18.4 cents per gallon, although his ex-boss .. Barack Obama, called such a move a "gimmick" on the campaign trail back in 2008. Biden told reporters after taking a walk along the beach near his vacation home in Delaware that he will decide by the end of the week whether to pause the federal gas tax. ... comments paint a stark contrast to presidential candidate and then-Illinois Sen....

The federal government currently charges 18 cents in taxes per gallon of gasoline [cut] Biden's ex-boss, former President Barack Obama, called a gas tax a "gimmick" on the campaign trail back in 2008. At the time Obama said a gas tax holiday was a "gimmick" to save Americans half a tank of gas over the summer so that lawmakers could "say that they did something." There is also concern about a gas tax holiday's impact on already record-high inflation. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a non-partisan group that advocates for reducing the federal budget, previously argued that suspending...

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana saw another increase in the state gasoline tax amid promises of inflation relief — including a proposal to issue direct payments to Indiana residents later this month. Hoosiers will pay 61 cents per gallon in taxes on gasoline, the state Department of Revenue announced Monday — another jump from June's record-high 56 cents per gallon. Fuel costs were expected to continue to rise in July, elevated largely because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The gas tax increase emerged alongside calls from Indiana Democrats to suspend the tax to aid residents reeling from the worst inflation in 40...

Following a slowly growing national movement, Pennsylvania may be ready to try the idea of charging drivers a mileage-based fee to make up millions in transportation revenue lost to more fuel-efficient hybrid and electric cars. Melissa J. Batula, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s acting executive deputy secretary, said the department is working with the General Assembly to draft legislation establishing fees for those who pay little or nothing toward road maintenance. That’s because the state gets about 75% of its road money from the gasoline tax. A commission appointed last year by Gov. Tom Wolf recommended a series of steps...

Dear Marylanders, Today I signed into law the largest tax cut package in state history—including the Retirement Tax Elimination Act—which will provide an additional $1.86 billion in long overdue tax relief for Maryland retirees, families, and small businesses. Combined with the gas tax suspension we enacted just a few weeks ago, we are delivering nearly $2 billion in tax relief during this legislative session alone. This historic, bipartisan agreement brings the total tax, toll, and fee relief that our administration has delivered to nearly $4.7 billion.When I was first running for governor eight years ago, I pledged that once we...

SACRAMENTO—The effort to temporarily halt California’s 51-cent gas tax failed for a third time in a state assembly committee as lawmakers instead proposed changing the bill completely by adding a new tax on fuel suppliers to feed a rebate program for gas consumers. Assembly Bill 1638 by Assemblyman Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin) was accepted to be heard on a last-minute basis by the state Transportation Committee on March 28, after being shut down by lawmakers on March 14 and March 24.Assemblyman Alex Lee (D-San Jose) opposed Kiley’s bill while blaming the high gas tax on fossil fuel corporations—such as Chevron and...

SACRAMENTO—The effort to temporarily remove California’s gas tax—the highest in the nation—failed in the state assembly on March 14 as gas prices continue to climb throughout the state.“Every [Republican] lawmaker voted to take 50 cents off the gallon of gas,” Assemblyman James Gallagher (R-Yuba City) wrote on Twitter. “Not a single Democrat Assemblymember supported this effort to lower gas prices.”Assemblyman Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin) introduced Assembly Bill 1638 on Jan. 12 to suspend the gas tax for six months to save residents about 50 cents per gallon, a “burden” on community Californians that will continue to worsen, Kiley told The Epoch...

SNIP Gas prices per gallon are getting higher across the U.S., but prices in California are soaring higher than any other state according to the American Automobile Association. Yesterday, the average price of gas in California was $5.69 — up from $4.68 a month ago — while the national average was $4.32. Much of what has driven up gas prices over the past several months is outside of California lawmakers’ control: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the sanctions that followed, have spiked prices, combined with the fact that demand for oil has ramped up from pandemic lows faster than supply....

As crude oil prices in the US hold above $90 a barrel (driven there in some part ironically by the Biden admin's war rhetoric), with energy analysts at many of the investment banks foresee oil surpassing $100/barrel - or even $120/barrel - in the not-too-distant future, the White House and top Democratic lawmakers are reportedly considering a federal gas tax holiday, in a desperate attempt to alleviate some of the pain consumers are feeling at the pump (and potentially help boost President Biden's rock-bottom approval ratings).The plan has coalesced just days after a group of vulnerable Senate Democrats introduced a...

Midwestern states dominate the Top List for states with worst potholes, with Indiana, Michigan and Ohio also ranking high. Drivers in Illinois pay the second highest gas tax in the country. Despite that, Illinois is near the top of the list for the states with the worst pothole problem. A study by QuoteWizard says Illinois is the 7th worst state for potholes. Midwestern states dominate the top ten with Indiana, Michigan and Ohio also making an appearance. Researcher Nick VinZant said pothole damage costs U.S. drivers $3 billion a year with the average cost for repairs around $300. “But you...

President Joe Biden is desperately trying to get his multi-trillion dollar spending package passed on Capitol Hill before Christmas, but according to the Wall Street Journal, Build Back Better includes a significant tax on natural gas. "It could be a rough winter for energy prices across the U.S., and the Democratic spending plan will make it worse. The House passed what it calls a 'fee' on methane that amounts to a stealth tax on natural gas and everyone who uses it," the Editorial Board writes. "The bill slaps an escalating tax on methane emissions by oil and gas producers that...

New Jersey Department of Treasury announced on Tuesday that the gas tax rate in the state will decrease by 8.3 cents per gallon beginning Oct. 1. It is the first gas tax reduction since its inception in 2016. The law enacted in 2016 in New Jersey imposed a tax on gasoline and diesel fuel purchases by motorists to generate funding for maintenance and improvement of the state’s roadways and bridges. The tax has been expected to provide $16 billion over eight years. The law dictates that the gas tax rate must be adjusted each year in order to generate roughly...

American drivers could soon trade paying taxes on gas at the pump for owing the government annual 'per-mile user fees,' under a new pilot program recently passed by the Senate in Joe Biden's $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure deal. The bill passed a Senate vote on Tuesday and will go on to the House of Representatives. The massive deal puts $125 million toward exploring the possibility of a federal vehicle miles traveled tax (VMT) by funding the launch of federal, state and local VMT pilot programs. It gives Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg the ability to award grants to local and regional...

Democrats in the General Assembly have managed to give every explanation imaginable for why you have to pay more — during an economic crisis — for what should have been a top spending priority for Colorado lawmakers over the last decade. They’ve done a fine job at gaslighting the people of Colorado into believing that not only is there no other solution to funding our roads and bridges than Senate Bill 260, but that the shortage of funds we’re experiencing today is indeed your fault. It’s not the only solution, and it is not your fault that our roads and...

One of my early memories, and not a happy one, is sitting in gas lines in the 1970s. My parents would rustle me out of bed early on frigid February mornings, and we'd pack into the Ford and speed over to the gas station. When we got there, there would often be six or seven cars in front of us. Sometimes, we'd wait 20 or 30 minutes for a fill-up. And we'd notice that every few weeks there would be someone on a ladder posting a higher price on the 20-foot-high sign. It always sticks in my memory because even...

Across Missouri, about 900 state road and highway bridges are rated in “poor” condition by Missouri Department of Transportation inspectors. In Southwest Missouri alone, that number is a little more than 200. MoDOT officials say the problem — money, or the lack there of — is not anything new. Without a big infusion of new money coming into the state’s road budget, the number of bridges with a “poor” designation likely won’t improve much. and while sources for new revenue are on state and federal tables, they still have obstacles that would have to be overcome. MoDOT officials say being...

Nowadays, the government needs more than gasoline taxes to fund its vast mission to expand, replace and preserve transportation routes in Washington state. Legislators have drawn up a menu of 33 tax and fee increases under the proposed 16-year Forward Washington plan, updated last week by Senate Transportation Committee Chair Steve Hobbs, D-Lake Stevens. That way, perhaps no single cost will provoke enough public fury to torpedo the plan. “Nobody likes to be taxed, but we also want to make this fair as we spread it across different sectors,” Hobbs said Friday. His approach holds direct gas-tax hikes to 9.8...