|
Printer Friendly |
Gas tax would have to be doubled to offset I-695
Gas tax would have to be doubled to offset I-695
Besides, initiative also would require any increase go to voters
Do you have questions about I-695? Ask us and we'll try to answer them in
our daily coverage of the statewide ballot measure between now and Election
Day Nov. 2.
I-695 would abolish the state Motor Vehicle Excise Tax and replace it with
a flat $30-per-vehicle fee. It also would require a public vote on future tax
and fee increases by state and local government.
Q: If all the funding nightmares happen, as the doomsayers say they will if
I-695 passes, why can't a penny-per-gallon tax be placed on gasoline?
- Don Valencic, Orting
A: Every 1 cent per gallon of the state gas tax brings in about $33 million
a year. So, offsetting the entire loss of revenue from I-695 - estimated at
$743 million in the first year, more in later years - would require a gas tax
increase of almost 23 cents per gallon.
That would amount to a doubling of the state gas tax - it's already 23 cents
per gallon.
It is important to note, however, that unlike MVET revenue, gas tax revenues
can be spent only on highway-related purposes, such as the state highway system,
local roads and the state ferry system.
That means revenue from an increased gas tax could be used to make up the
$368 million that I-695 would cost the state transportation fund. But it couldn't
be used to cover the remaining losses, which would come from transit agencies
and local governments.
Moreover, I-695 would require any state tax increase to be approved by the
voters. Lawmakers could change the initiative by two-thirds vote of the House
and Senate, but that's very unlikely.
It's also not likely that lawmakers would even consider raising the gas tax
- or putting it to a public vote - in 2000, when most of them will be running
for re-election. But that subject is likely to be considered by the 2001 Legislature.
A special state commission on transportation funding has been meeting for
nearly 18 months and is scheduled to deliver a report to the Legislature and
Gov. Gary Locke in December 2000. That report is expected to include recommendations
on how to get more money to pay for transportation projects at state and local
levels. A gas tax increase might be among the recommendations.
Q: If Initiative 695 passes, will the flat $30-a-year fee apply to recreational
vehicles, too, or just to cars, trucks and sport utility vehicles?
A: The $30 annual fee would apply to recreational vehicles (motor homes),
passenger cars, cabs, travel trailers (fifth-wheelers), other trailers, motorcycles,
tow trucks, sport utility vehicles and other passenger and pickup trucks.
It would not apply to tractor-trailer rigs or semis.
Send your questions to state government and transportation reporter Joseph
Turner at 253-597-8436, joe.turner@mail.tribnet.com or The News Tribune,
PO Box 11000, Tacoma 98411. Please be sure to include your name (spell it, please)
and telephone number so that we can reach you if necessary.
10/05/1999
