The end price of a gallon of gas is a certain price. Isn’t it actually better
if only a small percentage of that is the cost of the gas itself, and the rest
is taxes that can be plowed back into infrastructure maintenance, roads,
bridges, and public transportation?
Americans are incredibly spoiled when it comes to gas prices. In Europe, gas is
sold by the liter (slightly more than a quart), not the gallon…the sticker
shock would be too great otherwise, I guess!
And a large percentage of that much higher price is taxes that are indeed used
to maintain roads, etc.
The one thing that can make the gas tax less regressive is drivers choosing not
to drive gas guzzlers. People aren’t driving the big boats of the 50s and 60s
anymore, they have SUV’s instead, but there are cheaper alternatives out there
for fuel efficient, smaller cars.
On Aug 6, 2015, at 12:14 PM, R. E. Driscoll Sr <llocsirdsr@xxxxxxx> wrote:
Bob:
One of the larger factors which I feel must be considered is the actual price
of gasoline without any taxes. Over the next six to twelve months I think
this can go below one dollar per gallon (in the case of continued fiscal
depression) to above three dollars per gallon (in the case of rampant
inflation).
The effects of gasoline taxes regardless of source must be viewed on the
basis of the base costs and not as a separate item.
R. E. (Dick) Driscoll, Sr.
On 8/6/2015 10:43 AM, Bob Hachey wrote:
Hi Miriam,
Those specific questions at the end were good for a few laughs.
But on a more serious note, I wonder how folks on this list feel about
gasoline taxes. While I sure do want more funding for crumbling roads and
bridges along with public transit, I am concerned that increases in the gas
tax may be too regressive. Treu, it will fall hard on those with larger
luxury vehicles which tend to be gas guzzlers, but it will also fall hard on
anyone unfortunate enough to have a long commute regardless of income. So,
let's take, for example, a social worker earning, let's say, $35,000.00 to
$40,000.00 per year who has to drive 45 minutes to work each day. She
probably has an older car which is not so great on gas. Perhaps her long
commute happened because she wanted to move to a place where housing is more
affordable.OR, she had trouble finding work closer to home. IF we're going
to raise gas taxes, I believe we need to make it possible for those below
income, let's say $50,000.00 per year to deduct the cost of traveling to and
from work. I have been doing Donna's taxes now for a few years, but I never
did them when we had a car. Now, I get to deduct her monthly pass cost from
her taxes.
Bob Hachey
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
www.avast.com
