Tag: fuel tax: Page 6

Roadbuilding

Gas tax quiz

Pop quiz: What do you pay in federal fuel tax for every gallon of gas you buy? What percentage of the price of a gallon of gas comes from fuel taxes? No Googling! As the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy points out, Americans are woefully short of understanding the factors that make up the […]

May 23, 2013

Roadbuilding

Minnesota cuts tax hikes from transportation bill

The Senate Tax Committee voted yesterday to remove tax increases from the Minnesota’s transportation finance bill, Minnesota Public Radio reported. The committee rejected and removed two particular provisions: a 7.5 cent per gallon tax increase for road and infrastructure maintenance and a 0.5 cent metro sales tax dedicated to state transit. Senator Scott Dibble–Senate Transportation […]

May 9, 2013

Roadbuilding

Egg Money: Would online sales taxes save us from higher fuel taxes?

You wanna pay this way, or you wanna pay that way? The Senate has voted in favor of the Marketplace Fairness Act, which would give each state the authority to compel online businesses to collect applicable taxes. The House has yet to tackle the issue. But we are already hearing arguments that if the House […]

May 8, 2013

Roadbuilding

Waiting for DiMaggio

Is the automobile over? Scary thought if fuel taxes continue to be the single biggest contributor to our transportation infrastructure funding structure. And they’re not my words; it’s a headline from Motor Trend magazine last fall. I’m resurrecting this oldie here as part of an effort to look ahead to the coming reauthorization debate/fracas. Because […]

April 3, 2013

Roadbuilding

Are We Choosing Failure Over Success?

We careen along a path of self-destruction and cloak it in the illusion of fiscal responsibility.

April 3, 2013

Roadbuilding

Depends what you mean by “relevant” or “earmark.”

When it comes to transportation infrastructure, what is “relevant” and what is an “earmark?” The debate arises courtesy of Minnesota Republican Representative and former Presidential candidate Michelle Bachmann. And while the debate comes from a meeting where she spoke, it is not just a one-off story about that meeting or even about Bachmann, it is […]

March 22, 2013

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Wyoming legislature passes bill to increase gas tax 10 cents per gallon to fund infrastructure repairs

With the President working on a Federal plan of attack on the country’s ailing infrastructure, many states are exploring their own solutions to the problem. Last week, the Wyoming Senate passed legislation to increase the state’s motor fuels tax by 10 cents per gallon in order to fund highway improvements, Associated General Contractors reported. The […]

February 22, 2013

Roadbuilding

Highway Trust Fund $365.5 billion in debt by 2036 – AED report

Highway Trust Fund (HTF) shortfall will be in the coming decades. The report, conducted for the Associated Equipment Distributors (AED) by William and Mary University‘s Thomas Jefferson Program in Public Policy, forecasts that over the next 23 years the Highway Trust Fund will run up a $365.5 billion deficit. The number may be new but […]

February 22, 2013

Roadbuilding

Somebody blinked: States making moves for transportation infrastructure funds

As the inevitability of dwindling fuel tax revenues keeps butting heads with the inevitable need for more funding for transportation infrastructure, something has to give. States are now making moves instead of just talking about them, as this New York Times piece demonstrates. As reauthorization comes a round again in 2014, it is essential that […]

February 19, 2013

Roadbuilding

Uh oh, somebody’s out of touch on the gas tax

If something is unpopular but beneficial to the American public, do you as a member of Congress (a) support it, or (b) check the polls because sometimes what’s good for the country could get a person unelected. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce backs a fuel tax increase because, as President Reagan once said before he […]

February 14, 2013

Roadbuilding

The Roundabout Way to Safety and Saving

Go around. For older drivers it seems roundabouts may be the optimal intersection design. Apparently  for most age groups, surprisingly even for the impatient driver of any age. Less accidents, more traffic flow. This from a University of Maine study which also found that, wait for it, a driver who travels straight through 10 similar […]

January 22, 2013

Roadbuilding

Pushing the toll option

The International Bridge Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA) is launching what it calls an “aggressive” campaign to show us the benefits of tolling AND suggesting more of it. With highway infrastructure in such abysmal shape, tolling has to be on everyone’s lips, even if they speak behind closed doors. After all, it takes money from […]

January 10, 2013