Should the gas tax be raised?
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Topic: Should the gas tax be raised?
Posted By: SpongeBob
Subject: Should the gas tax be raised?
Date Posted: 31 Jan 2007 at 1:06pm
I'm curious to know how the board feels, as commuters, about the proposed increase in the gas tax in Virginia.
I think it is 17.5 cents/gallon now and they want to add a nickel to that. The Post said that would be about an additional $1.25 on a $20 fill-up.
This would raise about $600M/year into a fund set aside for transportation only.
So, any opinions on whether the legislature should do this?
Do you mind a nickel a gallon raise?
(One thing, please: let's not get lost in discussing NoVA vs. SoVA or how Richmond takes transpo money and uses it for non-transpo things. Let's just assume that the money from the tax will be spent appropriately statewide for road-related things. The question is: are people dead-set against any kind of gas tax raise?)
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Replies:
Posted By: getmehome pweeze
Date Posted: 31 Jan 2007 at 1:41pm
As long as the $$ would actually not technically be used to improve VA roads, I'm for it. AND if that means no HOT lanes.
Slug'n till 2010 (when the HOT lanes roll in)
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Posted By: darkprime
Date Posted: 31 Jan 2007 at 2:26pm
I agree with GMHP, but I further stipulate that current funding sources cannot be decreased. It would be easy to say that the new funds generated go straight to transportation needs, but there would be nothing stopping them from cutting existing funds to it, so that there's a net change of ZERO in support of transportation.
Also, if you wrote the right numbers from the Post, then their math is flawed. 1.25 / .05 = 25, meaning 25 gallons will yeild $1.25. Last I checked, gas was not $20/25 = $0.80 a gallon, although I wish it were.
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Posted By: sluDgE
Date Posted: 31 Jan 2007 at 3:27pm
Let's get this straight ... we've seen recent board postings about various bills in the General Assembly for increased gas tax, user fees (tolls) on every Va interstate, HOT lanes, etc. [V]
If they all pass, how much more than the $35 one-way HOT lane toll (as mentioned on another thread on this board) will a Stafford or F-burg commuter have to pay? [B)]
Hear that whooshing sound? That's just the money being sucked out of your bank account! [:p]
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Posted By: MDC
Date Posted: 31 Jan 2007 at 4:09pm
Sponge,
It's a nickel per dollar, or 5% on the proposed additional gas tax.
I think it's stupid to think that raising taxes will do any good. They need policy improvments, not revenue improvments.
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Posted By: Galah
Date Posted: 01 Feb 2007 at 8:22am
Give me a gas tax - especially if it means no HOT or toll roads. Don't know about your gas mileage but I can get about 3 trips Richmond to DC on 20 gallons of gas, if that costs me an extra $1.25...BONUS, when you consider that a $35 one-way HOT would have cost me $105 for the same three trips.
I like better roads and public services, ensures that my property values are more likely to continue to increase. Sorry folks, I may not be a career politician, but I AM a career public servent, and for the most part, I think I work pretty hard to get good value out of the tax payers dollar.
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Posted By: Sheepish
Date Posted: 01 Feb 2007 at 9:15pm
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As much as I hate paying any new tax on top of all the other taxes I currently pay, if the return on investment is actually provided and I am not "suckered" into another false promise, I would pay. But like mentioned by folks above, I don't want current funding sources removed, and I don't want to pay tolls to use ANY VA interstate highways. Filling up my tank every six days would cost me less in tax than what I pay for a latte from Starbucks. So, if the return on this investment improves my commute and leisure use of state roads, then I'll give up one of my lattes each week. But I don't trust VDOT with managing the funds...legislature needs to be smart and specific... if THAT's possible....
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Posted By: getmehome pweeze
Date Posted: 02 Feb 2007 at 7:38am
I heard on the radio this morning the gas tax was passed...
Slug'n till 2010 (when the HOT lanes roll in)
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Posted By: darkprime
Date Posted: 02 Feb 2007 at 8:03am
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Well if it passes, the idea of state wide tolls will probably go away for a little while at least. Now to move onto killing HOT and the Hybrid exemptions.
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Posted By: colossus911
Date Posted: 02 Feb 2007 at 11:01am
Yeah the proposal isbn't raising gas taxes, its expanding Sales tax to cover gas, which means 5% increase of cost (meaning $2.20 gas would now be $2.31)
In addition, the money goes not to the Transpo trust fund but teh general treasury. Although they SAY the funds would be spent for transporation related issues. Reality is this is the worst type of scam.
If they are going to hike gas taxes they should hike gas taxes which go to the transporation fund and are spent on transportation, instead they are hiking SALES taxes and saying to TRUST them that they will spend it on transporation.
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Posted By: n/a
Date Posted: 05 Feb 2007 at 1:55pm
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I support a gas-tax increase designed to fund road projects, as opposed to toll roads. The challenge is making sure the taxes will make it to the blacktop! We know that once tolls roads are built (we have already paid for 90% of that construction with taxes that funded the HOV lanes) the private firms will rape commuters with high tolls and maximize their profits at the expense of any future road improvements. But can we trust VDOT to do with a new tax what they cannot do with the old tax: improve and maintain the roads? Situation looks grimm.
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Posted By: darkprime
Date Posted: 05 Feb 2007 at 2:35pm
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It's a shame that most states that are privatizing roads do not realize that they are losing potential income, as every bit of profit made by the private companies could have gone to the state instead.
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Posted By: Freud
Date Posted: 05 Feb 2007 at 4:02pm
quote:
Originally posted by raymond
[br]I support a gas-tax increase designed to fund road projects, as opposed to toll roads. The challenge is making sure the taxes will make it to the blacktop! We know that once tolls roads are built (we have already paid for 90% of that construction with taxes that funded the HOV lanes) the private firms will rape commuters with high tolls and maximize their profits at the expense of any future road improvements. But can we trust VDOT to do with a new tax what they cannot do with the old tax: improve and maintain the roads? Situation looks grimm.
I agree. The very thing that draws people to Northern Virginia -- nice housing in close enough proximity to commute and earn a nice income (in which VA gets a percentage in income tax) -- might be the one thing that might scare people away from Virginia.
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Posted By: happycommuter
Date Posted: 06 Feb 2007 at 2:39pm
THE GASOLINE TAX BILL HAS BEEN REMOVED. CLIPPED THIS PIECE(see below) from NBC4's website.
Sen. H. Russell Potts Jr. asked that the bill endorsed by the Senate Finance Committee last week be returned to the committee, effectively killing the legislation because Tuesday was the deadline for the bill to clear the Senate.
TRAFFIC IS HERE TO STAY IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT JUST SIMPLY MOVE AWAY
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