U.S. Panel May Push 40-Cent Gas-Tax Rise, Person Says

By John Hughes and Angela Greiling Keane

Jan. 9 (Bloomberg) -- A U.S. panel created to recommend ways to fund road construction plans to propose that federal gasoline taxes rise as much as 40 cents per gallon over five years, a person with direct knowledge of the plan said.

The group will suggest that the current tax of 18.4 cents per gallon increase by 5 cents to 8 cents annually and be indexed to inflation after the five years, said the person, who didn't want to be named before the report is made public.

The panel, called the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission, is scheduled to release its recommendations including the federal fuel-tax increase Jan. 15 in Washington. Congress created the panel in 2005 for the purpose of issuing the report.

The findings may bolster efforts by members of Congress who have tried unsuccessfully to raise fuel taxes over the objections of President George W. Bush. The tax increase wouldn't go into effect until after Bush leaves office in 2009.

The commission will also recommend that state fuel taxes rise by an amount slightly larger than the federal increases, according to the person. The U.S. tax on gasoline was last boosted in 1993, by 4.3 cents a gallon.

Trina Leonard, a spokeswoman for the commission, declined to comment on details of the report.

Dissent

The recommendations may also include greater use of tolls and public-private partnerships, said Janet Kavinoky, transportation director for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters and two other members of the commission plan objections over the group's majority findings that fuel taxes should be increased, Kavinoky said.

Those objecting also include Peters' former deputy, Maria Cino, and Rick Geddes, a Cornell University professor, Kavinoky said. The Chamber backs an increase in the fuel tax as well as other means to pay for infrastructure improvements, she said.

Brian Turmail, a spokesman for Peters, said raising taxes won't cut congestion and will send more dollars to Washington that will be misspent.

``The last thing we need is more of the same kind of broken policies and ineffective tax hikes that have given commuters traffic to everywhere and bridges to nowhere,'' Turmail said.

Turmail and Leonard declined to comment on potential dissent by members. Geddes said he wouldn't discuss contents of the report until it is released to the public.

``The commission did recognize the need for more investment in the nation's infrastructure,'' he said in an interview. ``Everyone on the commission agrees with that.''

A Cino spokeswoman referred a request for a comment to the highway commission.

Partnerships

Rather than tax increases, the Bush administration has promoted public-private partnerships in which financial firms such as Macquarie Bank Ltd. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. join other investors to provide roadway funding.

Goldman and Macquarie, as well as Cintra Concesiones de Infraestructuras de Transporte SA and Transurban Group, yesterday announced they formed a group to advocate for more private investment in U.S. infrastructure.

Congress in the same 2005 law that created the commission approved $286.5 billion for highway and transit projects.

To contact the reporters on this story: John Hughes in Washington at Jhughes5@bloomberg.net Angela Greiling Keane in Washington at agreilingkea@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: January 9, 2008 18:53 EST

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...vSPUc&refer=us

 

That diesel TSX is looking better and better to me.

 

If they raised the fed tax on the gas...there would be no need for revised cafe mpg standards.

The increased cost of gas would drive the public to more efficient automobiles, and natural market condition of supply and demand would have the automakers produce more efficient vehicles....and massive SUV's would be DONE.

 

^^ That would be nice, but somehow I doubt it. People are whining about gas prices now, but not actually doing much about it. I thought more people would have given up big SUVs by now, honestly, with all the bitching that goes on. It seems the threshold is higher, like maybe a couple bucks more, then maybe we'd see more people switching.

Plus, all the extra money from this tax won't go towards fixing roads and bridges. It'll go into politician's pockets to piss away like always. They keep adding and raising taxes everywhere, instead of learning to spend less and be less corrupt. It pisses me off.

 

and
The gas prices have impacted auto mfg's. Truck based SUV's are dying a slow death and cross-overs are on the rise....not to mention small car sales are on the rise....and the rise of hybrids and diesel vehicles being produced. If there was no demand, there would be no vehicles of this type.

Sure, politicians have pissed away all the tax $$...as usual.....but, there has been little to no investment in National transportation infrastructure. This is gonna bite us in the @ss!! It already has....bridge failures, and massive traffic problems, are the tip of the iceberg.

I'm the last guy who is for tax increases, but on the other hand transportation infrastructure is failing on a large scale. It's a damned if you do, damned if you don't scenario.

 

Agreed. I'm just a bit salty being from NJ and getting taxed to death all ready, as you Californians are familiar with as well. I hate politicians and I'm sick and tired of taxes b/c the money gets pissed away no matter how much we give them. It's just never enough.

 

welcome to Canada's way to paying for gas.

 

^^ahaha.

<<<i love your avatar.


Also what i dont get is the industry does have the patents on technology they have hidden on increasing gas mileage and now the time would be to release it. Instead they come out with diesels(which were before gasoline anyways) and we wont be saving money anyways because the price of diesel went up even though it takes less refining than gas and is what gasoline is made of...so there can be some magical shortage of diesel....arg.

 

at least for the most part our vehicle infrastructure is in rather good shape, except for quebec, and well the bridges...........

 

Pfft, 40 cents...I bet gas will be $5.00 by 2015

 

Fixed

 

Doh!

 

Index to inflation and ensuring the money actually is spent on roads would make it palatable - but a 200+% increase is not something most folks would go for.

 

How about we lower taxes and only hire illegals to do our roads. Then you won't see 5 white dude, with 4 of them watching one work.

 

whats worse, $.40 more per gallon or ~5k more per car? someone do the math!

 

Par for the course in Jersey.

As one who rides NJ Transit commuter rail daily, I would say that any $.40 increase in pump price makes me happy that I ride the rails. However, we usually see higher fares later on mainly due to increased ridership demands.

All that said, Americans will gripe about any increases at the pump but will continue to drive ceaselessly nonetheless. My wife is a good example: she would ONLY take mass transit IF she is going into Manhattan during a weekday. It would pretty much take gas prices in the double digits for her to curb her driving. (Then again, she is from South America where the concept of resource conservation is seen as ridiculous.)

 

 

Send out the prisoners to work on the road construction for free too.

P.S. with the higher gas prices, hasn't the government already been pocketing more tax money?

 

NYC prices their trains at the cost of gas + tolls. When gas prices go up, train prices ALWAYS follow. It $12 for a 30 minute round trip into NYC from the suburbs. This means they are just going to hike prices .

 

 

 

No, gas tax is a flat tax, not a percentage. At least federally ... I think the states I buy gas in are also flat.

 

Exactly...no confustion here...just wondering how he came up with the logic that the fed is getting more $$ off of higher gax prices.

 

Indeed, I pay $200/mo for my monthly commuter rail pass and another $40/mo for the PATH. Sad part is, that $240/mo is SO MUCH cheaper than if I were to drive.

But yes: Gas/diesel prices increase --> a segment of driving commuters take to mass transit --> commuter agencies adjust with more trains/buses (concomitant with that are more delays and equipment problems) --> denouement: fare increases.

 

$.40 more per gallon will drive people to buy more efficient cars.

$5k more per car will cause people to buy cheaper cars or keep their current gas guzzlers.

 

That's the problem, the last report I saw said not even 50% of the current tax is used for roads.

 

^yup
Or I can just use my acura Two Legs

 

oh gosh, i want to get a car that runs on garbage like mr. fusion on the 2015 DeLorean.

 

http://content.usatoday.com/communit...e-mile-taxes/1

While this is a "third rail" kind of an issue both at the state and federal level, there's no getting around the fact that with the EPA mandated fuel mileage gains in the next few years, the tax revenue will fall causing politicians to try to make up the revenue short fall some other way. So all of you electric car driving tree huggers - you're not getting away without paying your "fair share".

 

Those motherfuckers cannot do that and provide no alternative.

I swear to god the elected officials in this country are trying to destroy it as quickly as possible.

 

ridiculous.

 

Get your nanny state GPS out of my car!!!!

 

Remember, Obama's appointment to Energy Secretary - Steven Chu.

Chu vowed to TRIPLE the price of gas. So far he is well on his way to meeting his promise.

 

Fuck that shit. No way in hell im paying per mile on top of the already high prices of fuel when i put on average 50k miles on my vehicles a year.

 

hmm...now I have something to research during the boredom of tomorrows class.

 

.40c tax increase proposal was beyond ridiculous.... now this?!?!

Any politician who even thinks that's a good idea can go eat dicks. Maybe they should implement a bill to charge politicians for making bad propositions. Every time you get a NO from a representative, you get charged $100 for each vote. If your suggested bill doesn't pass, double that total amount.

 

Maybe we should just use the education funding for gas, and the defense funding for education. That will solve our problems.

And I agree Costco, at some point the politicians need to be held accountable.

 

I don't mind paying a fee/tax that is only used for reasonable (no $200 mil bridges to nowhere in Alaska) road improvements. But don't tax me twice and don't use the revenue for other stuff.

 

This is REDONKULOUS. I'd have to consider moving next to the hospital if this happens. Watching where I go via GPS is a non-starter for me. Increasing the fuel surcharge during a recession? Thupid.

 

Amen. Anybody who tries to get near my car with any sort of tracking device will not take another step.

This country is fast on its way to becoming an Orwellian police state and the great state of Oregon is proud to be at the front of that movement. The sign coming into the state really should say 'Welcome to Oregon - Leave Your Freedoms at the State Line; You're Too Stupid To Use Them'.