Posted on 02/20/2019 10:19:05 PM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
Gov. Mike DeWine will propose an 18-cents a gallon increase in the gasoline tax to maintain and upgrade Ohio’s roads and bridges in the transportation budget he submits to lawmakers Thursday.
That would amount to a 64 percent increase in the state’s current 28-cent gas tax, which the state transportation director has said is insufficient for the state and local governments to maintain current roads or finish major new construction projects.
DeWine revealed the number Wednesday on WTAM in Cleveland. He did not disclose if the amount would be phased in over multiple years. He also did not discuss if the tax automatically would increase with inflation, though he has expressed support for that idea to ensure the tax’s buying power is not eroded over time.
The first-year Republican’s request would raise about $1.2 billion annually, with DeWine billing the new money as vital to maintaining safe roads and protecting Ohio’s economy. An Ohio motorist with a vehicle that averages 30 miles a gallon who drives 15,000 miles annually would pay an extra $90 a year if lawmakers approve DeWine’s request.
The proposed increase would raise about $725 million a year for the state’s highway and bridge network while generating about $480 million a year for local government street needs.
“You have to have a gas tax increase, there’s no doubt,” DeWine said Tuesday. “The day of reckoning is finally here and we have an obligation to face that.”
In 2013, Gov. John Kasich and lawmakers bonded against future turnpike revenue, raising $1.5 billion. The move masked the state’s gas tax revenue deficiency, and that money essentially ran out this year.
(Excerpt) Read more at dispatch.com ...
PING.
The man is an idiot. Gas taxes are crushing for the middle and lower classes. It hurts trucking and farming.
Better to cut regulations and spending
Funny how the “day of reckoning” is as soon as he is governor. Ohio’s gas prices will be same as New York’s.
Raising gas tax hands Ohio to a democrap inn2020
So what has been happening with infrastructure? John Kasich, please pick up the white courtesy phone...
Brilliant. Better order some yellow jackets.
What a jerk. Gas prices have finally come down dramatically, and this total fool is going to jack them back up. What a piece of garbage he is . . . another Demorat wearing RINO suits.
“18-cents a gallon increase in the gasoline tax to maintain and upgrade Ohio’s roads and bridges”
NY said the same thing at the last gas tax hike, as well as the last toll hike.
Surprise, none of the money went to roads and bridges.
It never does.
The gas tax was increased to 28 cents per gallon in 2005. Accounting for inflation, the rate should be 36 cents today. That’s the real problem with taxes that don’t increase with inflation. They’ve lost about 1/3 of the buying power of their gas tax over the last 14 years or so.
That said, DeWine is asking for an 18 cent increase. That’s about 36 cents in 2005 dollars! He’s not just adjusting for inflation. It’s a very regressive money grab from people who can least afford it.
Think about it this way. You buy something in 2000 for $10 with a 7% sales tax. You pay $10.70. That same item in today’s dollars costs about $15. Now sales tax is $1.05. Tax revenue increased as the price increased.
Oh, but government increased the sales tax rate to 9% since 2000. They increased spending more than inflation and expect taxpayers to keep coughing up greater portions of their hard earned wages. That $15 item now costs $16.35. Inflation is bad enough, but taxpayers keep increasing the government’s share.
BTW, I think the federal government intentionally tries to keep 2% inflation. That means we lose 20% every decade, and I dare say many families simply aren’t keeping up. Even worse, the government wants to import more workers, suppressing wages.
Welcome to California.
Government needs money to maintain infrastructure. How much does it need? That’s the important question. How many vehicles are on the road today versus 2005? What’s the average gas mileage? How long do bridges and roads last before they need repaired or replaced? It’s actually very complicated.
It might even be justified, but forgive me if I’m a bit skeptical that they need 46 cents a gallon. That’s 10 cents more per gallon than the 2005 rate, accounting for inflation. DeWine has some explaining to do.
Grab the yellow vests folks.
Maybe they should tighten their belts and cut spending.
Why be bashful? Just go for the five dollars per gallon now and be done with it.
Thanks Tol,
As you know, I’m ALL FOR GAS TAX INCREASES, providing the money is spent on free highways, and nowhere else. Not sure if this would be the case here, but if so - then have at it!
Not to be out done, MN Gov. Walz ( DFL leftist loon party) is pushing a 20 cent increase in the gas tax,also for “transportation “. Transportation improvements in Minnesota mean building bike paths and light rail in theTwin Cities while roads in the rest of the state go to heck.
Yeah that’s about $450 a year for my family. That would suck.
Buses, rapid transit projects, none of these things pay for themselves. So do they jack up the prices of a bus ticket, or charge more to ride on commuter trains?
Do they build new highways? Seldom... When they do, they spend way too much money on diamond lanes and way too little on expanding lanes we call can use.
We have far more cars on the roads today. They are getting a massive amount of funds. They just apply them to their little pipe dreams and to hell with the automotive public.
They demand we get better mileage. They demand we work toward reducing emissions. When we do, they shaft us anyway.
They come up with toll roads, elevated taxation, and do very little to make life better for us.
These idiotic micro-managers are in over their heads, and they don’t mind screwing us to make up for their incompetence.
Any special people movers that are not paying for themselves, should be taken out of service.
It’s not my job to subsidize the buses and rail transit, which I never use. They can sustain themselves, or go bye-bye.
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