Today's fuel tax consists of 18.4 cents per gallon of gasoline, 24.4 cents per gallon of diesel fuel, and 21.9 cents per gallon of jet fuel. [5] We'll include the latter so that air terminal facilities can benefit in the same way as highway transportation. I estimate that these taxes generate about $90 billion, $80 billion, and $23 billion respectively, but not all of this money finds its way into our transportation systems.
First, let's recognize that to regain the lost funding through a simple increase in the fuel tax, the tax on gasoline would need to increase from 18.4 cents to 30.7 cents, a raise of 12.3 cents a gallon. Similar raises would be required for the tax on diesel fuel and jet fuel. An increase this big would be a hardship on many people, especially those least able to absorb its cost without cutting back on other essential expenses.
So let's build a better fuel tax system. We'll start by increasing the base tax by a modest amount. Then, recognizing that the price of fuel varies over time, we'll implement an extra tax only when the price is low. And to take the complication out of the retail level, we'll apply the tax to products as they leave the refiner. An increase in the base tax of 7.5 cents a gallon across the board gets us a little more than half the way there. The new base tax rates for gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel would become 25.9, 31.9, and 29.4 cents a gallon respectively.
The surtax is a little more complicated. Start with the price of crude oil - West Texas Intermediate spot, to be precise. As of July, 2015 the price stood at $50.90 per barrel. [6] Then compare to the ten-year average of the same index, which stood at $78.73 per barrel. You can see that oil prices were down, and down sharply - about 35% below the average. So let's create an index that compares the 10-year average to the spot price (Average divided by spot) and multiply that by the base tax rate.
Fuel taxes would increase, but a large portion of the increase would come at times when consumers are best able to absorb it without hardship. And it would recover the lost revenues that are so valuable to the maintenance of our transportation infrastructure.
If you took a road trip over the Labor Day weekend this year, you might have noticed that gasoline was something of a bargain - in some regions well under $2.00 per gallon. [7] You might have also noticed that you had to slow down on some of your favorite roads and highways just to dodge the cracks and potholes. It's time to bring the safety of our highways, roads, and bridges into the twenty-first century. And put some of the lost fun back into motoring!
[1] click here
[2] click here
[3] click here
[4] click here
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
1
1
1
