Will We Finally See an Increase to State and Federal Gas Taxes?

The idea of raising the gas tax, which pays for road and transit projects across the country, has been been a political poison at every level of government, across both parties, for many years now. The federal gas tax has been locked at 18.4 cents per gallon since 1993, and many states have gone even longer since raising their own, creating massive gaps in transportation budgets. With fiscal deficits becoming too large to ignore, however, the gas tax appears to be making at least a bit of a comeback.

In recent weeks, Minnesota leaders have pushed for $15 billion in gas tax increases, Massachusetts leaders have revived the gas tax as one of many potential ways to close a shortfall, and Maryland leaders have said they will consider the tax unless the country goes over the fiscal cliff. The governor of Virginia, who has strongly opposed the tax in the past, seems at least ready to keep the measure on the bargaining table. The federal government appears willing to be doing the same.