A new report from the research arm of the American Trucking Association (ATA) claims that increasing federal fuel taxes is the best, and even “only meaningful” way to fund large-scale infrastructure initiatives in the United States.
According to a press release issued by the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI), the “only meaningful mechanism for attaining the administration’s vision for a large-scale infrastructure program is through a federal fuel tax increase.”
Titled “A Framework for Infrastructure Funding,” the report examines several different funding mechanisms based on four different criteria, but increasing the federal fuel tax was the only solution to score a perfect 5/5.
Those criteria are as follows:
- Administration: How feasible is revenue collection, and how many collection points are there?
- Efficiency: How much does it cost to collect revenue?
- Equity: Who pays the tax/fee and who benefits?
- Effectiveness: Is this tax/fee able to raise sufficient transportation revenue?
“We inherently believe the ‘best case’ scenario for funding highway infrastructure is the federal fuel tax, but we wanted more data to prove that,” said ATRI’s president, Rebecca Brewster, in an interview with Fleet Owner.
The federal fuel tax hasn’t been raised since 1993, and most states haven’t increased their fuel taxes enough recently to even match inflation. There are 9 states who haven’t raised their fuel taxes once in the past 25 years.
There have been rumblings in the federal government that a fuel tax increase may be coming down the pipe. According to The Hill, last week President Trump’s economic advisor Roy Cohn told a group of House members that they would be able to vote for a federal fuel tax increase early in 2018. A separate source claimed that the White House is looking to increase the gas tax by 7 cents per gallon.
Meanwhile President Trump himself seemed open to the idea, saying that “it’s something that I would certainly consider,” but White House quickly back-peddled on that claim.
In the ATRI report however, an increase of as little as 7 cents wasn’t even considered. Below is a table illustrating the cost to drivers if gas and diesel taxes were increased by $.10 or $.25 a gallon.
Source: ATRI, prnewswire, truckinginfo, truckinginfo, thehill, fleetowner, freightwaves, truckinginfo, bloomberg
I think its high time that federal and state DOT have an audit, and see where and how the current tax revenue is being spent before we raise taxes. I have an idea that it is used for other purposes, such as other budget short falls.
Why don’t we tax the rich more they don’t have to live that Luxuriously. American’s are starving in the US nobody helps. No body helps Puerto Rico but American’s want to go there for vacation. I like Trump but why can’t he help show the American people how you care about the USA and maybe the celebrities (rich people) might follow. So big companies have to pay more fuel taxes and there goes are raises it’s bad enough that most of us truckers pay a lot of money for medical we have families and more than one child. Please give us truckers a break after all WE are the ones that supply every needs. P.S WE need to put GOD (JESUS) back in America this is why we were great and now we are falling. GOD BLESS AMERICA.
I’ve got a fantastic way to pay for infrastructure improvements with funds to spare, and working Americans will agree! Drug test all welfare recipients! Those who fail, do not receive. They will be forced to either clean up or go to work. If they go to work, less welfare recipients and more taxes paid, not to mention a pride that some Americans lack. Making America great isn’t about our President, It’s about it’s Citizens!
Agreed!!!
Less than 1/10 of 1% of welfare recipients have be found to be on drugs. They are spending more money on drug tests than on benefits. Missouri tested over 38,000 recipients and only found 48 to be positive. That is one of the biggest wastes of tax payer money.
I know what you’re saying but that,itself,will be tremendously expensive. The program that collects specimens for urinalysis(DriverCheck)on behalf of the USDOT charges about $100 a pop.Maybe,as economic growth continues to escalate,more stringent measures can be taken to sift out welfare cheats by introducing/increasing legitimate job search criteria for able body individuals.Getting as many people off welfare as possible is imperative whether it’s voluntary or not.
Damn son took the words right out of my mouth!
They’ve done this in several states – notably Florida – at great cost to the taxpayers. And found only a small handful of people on welfare using drugs. The testing cost WAY more than the savings in dropped welfare. In addition, know who REALLY pays? Children who lost the gene lottery. Most welfare is aimed at children, and they have no control over the sins of their parents. There are people who could work if they would, but probably more who would work if they could. How about cracking down on waste, fraud and abuse in the military? There’s plenty of it.
To bad they tried that in Florida and less than 2% of people tested failed and you are clearly forgetting to account for the price of the tests. Florida lost millions with this idea sorry to tell you.
Why is it the first thing everyone wants to jump on is the poor. I would bet you know nothing about the welfare for the rich. Like supreme court justices getting their whole pay for their whole life. What about 100,000 dollar pensions for government workers, do you honestly believe they earned it, putting in your time is not the same thing. Anyone with half a brain knows if they raise taxes on anything, that is just what it will be used for, ANYTHING. The cesspool we call Washington is the problem, not the answer, and people that take their money down to K street to get things done is so far from honest it stinks to high heaven. Just let the millionaires hold the poor down, don’t help them.
Most states do drug test people signing up for welfare. Other states require people to go through job skills program. Or they get cut off after the first. 3 months. And can’t get welfare or snap again for 3yrs.
Or how about cutting back the military industrial complex and building bridges for countries we invade
One way to settle this is take all the lazy people on welfare and put them to work, Trump is really fixing to screw his self if he raised the fuel taxes it is going to do nothing but hurt the trucking industry tremendously and he is going to be out of a job when his term is up it’s all I got to say about that…
In the ELD is not helping the trucking industry not one bit there is going to be more trucks setting with worn-out drivers from waiting then going to be doing any good!!
Not bad idea! Even those on welfare would have to pay. Additional fuel cost would be passed on to everyone rich or poor!
First let’s pass a bill that requires all states receiving any federal fuel tax be required to alot 100% of the state’s fuel tax to be spent on highways, bridges and tunnels. Not mass transit, not bicycle paths, not equestrian trails and certainly not for governor’s ‘special’ projects.
Same for Feds.
we’d be swimming in money.
Problem is states like New Jersey, California, Washington…just to name a few..that siphon off highway funds for ‘other’ things.
BINGO !!!! We have a winner
There are taxes in fuel other than fuel taxes, such as sales tax. When the price of fuel goes up states receive more sales tax revenue. The problem is that some states use collected revenue for pet projects such as bike trails, mass transit and parks instead of infrastructure. Basically, states are misappropriating public funds. If politicians are criminally charged for their misuse of public money, there would likely be a surplus.
It means that it will be more money to be wasted by the road construction unions, I’d been working East Coast and noticed that CT makes one mile per month on resurfacing roads, NJ outside contractors 5 miles one night, big difference, GWB 1″ per day, those unions are robbing us and our government just close one eye, and they want more? for what?
Yeah but without the Union you’d be out there spreading asphalt with a butter knife and get’n bent over on your pay!
It’s what unions are doing right now, they need to be proactive and stop wasting our time.
5 or 10 cents a gallon in fuel tax probably won’t hurt anyones pocket.
But it would be suicide for the politicians who put it in place.
That alone would be worth it. 🤣🤣
The good old boys at ATA, then they will be telling you, sorry folks no raises, these taxes are killing us. These are connected people, connected to the cesspool.
EVERYONE TAKE NOTE of VMT that only scores 2.5. Once you have electronic logs active in all commercial vehicles this will become a 5.0 and the preferred method over fuel taxes even. I have been warning everyone here the ELD is the stepping stone to federal tax by mile. Once on commercial vehicles they are coming for your personal car