The Transportation Commission's Proposed 200 Percent Gas Tax Increase: One of Several Bad Ideas in Its Report


 

Publication Date: January 2008

Publisher: Heritage Foundation (Washington, D.C.)

Author(s): Ronald D. Utt

Research Area: Transportation

Keywords: Smart growth; earmarks; surface transportation; transportation policy

Type: Report

Coverage: United States

Abstract:

The National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Commission has recommended raising the gasoline tax by 218 percent over the next five years to fund new road, transit, administrative, and environmental initiatives. By rejecting the commission's counterproductive recommendations and focusing instead on ending wasteful diversions from the highway trust fund, Congress could redeploy an estimated $19.3 billion to general-purpose roads.