MD Gov. Martin O'Malley's sales tax on gas is the right way to fund transport

[marmar]

O'Malley's sales tax on gas is the right way to fund transport
by Ben Ross • February 2, 2012 10:43 am


In his Wednesday state-of-the-state speech, Governor Martin O'Malley proposed ending the exemption of gasoline from Maryland's 6% sales tax. This is the best way for the state to get more money for transportation.

Ending the sales tax exemption, rather than increasing the gas tax beyond the current 23½¢ per gallon, accomplishes two things. First, sales tax revenue keeps pace with inflation. With the current structure of the gas tax, politically difficult tax increases are needed just to keep transit operations and road maintenance constant.

Second, we now have an opportunity to refute a widely believed myth about transportation funding. Once upon a time, drivers paid for roads through the gas tax. Most people think that's still true, but it's not.

Maryland's gas tax goes into the state's Transportation Trust Fund, along with the sales tax on car sales, fares paid on MARC trains and MTA buses, and revenues from BWI Marshall Airport and the Port of Baltimore. When the gas tax was last raised in 1992, the 23½¢ state tax was 33% of the pretax price of gasoline. The sales tax on other pur­chases was 5%. The heavy tax on gas could be described as a user fee paid by drivers. ..................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/13563/omalleys-sales-tax-on-gas-is-the-right-way-to-fund-transport/

[hlthe2b]

1. Very regressive for the poor, however... especially as gas is predicted to go $4-5/gallon by summer

[LiberalEsto]

2. This will hurt a lot of people

Folks are already struggling to make ends meet, and gas prices are climbing higher. Adding a gas tax increase is unthinkable at this time.

I live in Maryland and have have been unemployed almost 3.5 years. One of my daughters is unemployed. The other daughter's husband is unemployed, and they are planning to move to another state to improve their chances of finding work. They just moved in with us this week because they can no longer afford the rent on their apartment. Two of my neighbors are unemployed.

Tax the fucking corporations and the wealthy instead. They can afford it. We can't.

[nxylas]

3. It's a good idea in principle, but ignores the stranglehold that big oil has over the US Government

In theory, I think it's correct that people who drive gas-guzzlers should pay more than those who drive more fuel-efficient cars. But how many times have you heard of small cars that are freely available in the rest of the world being banned in the US on some bullshit health and safety pretext? Often, the only option for boosting your mpg is a hybrid or alternative fuel vehicle, which is usually out of reach for people on lower incomes.