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Earlier this year, the Oregon Legislature passed a transportation bill that included some of the biggest transportation tax increases the state has ever seen. Starting in January 2011 (or before that if the economy improves faster), Oregonians will pay an extra six cents for a gallon of gas. The new law also included a four-year moratorium on new gas taxes implemented by local governments within the state. Several cities are rushing to get their gas taxes passed in the intervening time before the moratorium takes effect September 28.
Paul Romain, lobbyist and executive director of the Oregon Petrolium Association is busily filing paperwork and mobilizing signature gatherers to refer each new local tax to a fall ballot. Romain makes the case that voters should be able to decide on these increases, but he also argues that referring the new laws essentially keeps them from being enacted prior to the September deadline. Not surprisingly, local officials from Madras to Cornelius disagree. City officials from these and other communities around the state say the laws are enacted when they pass, regardless of a subsequent referral. And they are willing to go to the mat over this since local gas taxes could be a significant revenue source to pay for road repairs and other services.
How much do you know about where your state and local gas taxes go? Do you live in a place that's working to pass a new gas tax? How far will you drive for cheaper gas? Do you work at or own a gas station? How will the new state law affect you?
GUESTS:
- Mike Morgan: City Administrator for Madras
- Paul Romain: Executive director, attorney and lobbyist for the Oregon Petroleum Association
- Vicki Berger: Oregon State Representative (R-Salem) and one of four sponsors of House Bill 2001
- Chad Jacobs: General council for the League of Oregon Cities
Tagged as: gas · tax · transportation
Photo credit: futureatlas.com / Creative Commons
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I really do not care where the state and local taxes go.
As I understand it, several localities are going to raise their fuel tax rate.
The price of fuel usually posted on station reader boards, is easy to see and compare. Living in the rural three-quarter’s of this state, fuel is necessary, however the price is critical, thus, you when possible plan your purchases.
Sisters for example as one of those places that is I gather raising their tax rate and has the first gas in many miles headed east, thus a lock on the market. However if the price rises even a few pennies a gallon over their already generally high price, rather then fill the tank we will only buy enough to get to the nearest “out of the taxed zone” station. Thus, Sisters will receive less income then they do today, at least from this consumer.
If the taxes raise the price in one place and I can combine trips to drive around that tax I sure as hell will!
Economically right now I have no real choice! -
We've seen, what, a four-fold increase in the cost of gasoline in the past 4 years?
None of the speakers have made it clear, to me at least, why the cost of maintaining transportation infrastructure has kept pace with the skyrocketing prices of fuel.
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Re. "why the cost of maintaining transportation infrastructure has kept pace with the skyrocketing prices of fuel", they clearly have nothing to do with each other. The supplier price of fuel fluctuates with supply & demand (and speculation). Taxes fluctuate when governments have a need to change them. For the record, the cost of maintaining roads has never been completely covered by gas taxes. So, if governments are raising the gas tax to avoid having to subsidize road maintenance out of the general fund, that's fair regardless of the "percentage increase" it may cause in the gas tax.
Lastly, in view of the ongoing and impending impact of global warming, using fuel taxes to create a market-based incentive to use more fuel-efficient vehicles makes good economic sense. Government should subsidize activities (like solar & wind) that we want to see more of, and penalize activities (like burning fossil fuels) that we want to see less of.
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1. Isn't a gas tax is one of the most fair user based taxes?
2. The industry talks about local stations but aren't most stations in Oregon owed by the Big Oil companies and just leased or managed by a local person?? Big oil has been making record profits for many years..
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As to how much of a price difference will change my behavior, I live in Beaverton and always buy the same national brand. I never buy gas at a place near work that charges 10 cents more than the one nearest my home. However, the two other stations that I know of which have prices about a nickel lower than the one near me, but are (resp.) 1 & 3 miles farther away, I only fill up at if I'm in the neighborhood AND have less than half a tank.
So, I really don't think that a 2 or 3 cent local gas tax increase would induce me to fill up in a neighboring town ... unless I happened to be there with less than half a tank ... in which case I might have filled up, anyway, even at the same price.
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I agree, the extra penny or two won't make much difference to me given that the price of gas can fluctuate this much or more day to day. Do the math, if you have a 20 gallon tank, get 15 mpg and the price per gallon is $2.50 and lets say a local gas tax would add another $.02/gallon the extra 40 cents you would pay on a fillup means you better find a lower tax gas station within 2.5 miles or you will have consumed your "savings".
What I resent is having to pay 50 cents or more surcharge to use a debit card or having to pay a different price per gallon for a credit card
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I wouldn't drive a block to save five cents a gallon. I don't think people pay attention like the blowhards do.
Gas taxes are fair.
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Really? You wouldn't drive a block to save, say, 75 cents for a fifteen gallon fill-up? I have to admit: I would. (Does that make me a blowhard?)
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I don't know if you are a blowhard or not but I doubt if you would find $0.5/gallon difference between stations a block away. You might find a penny a gallon difference but not a nickel. If you do you probably would have to go inside to pay so you are tempted to buy cheetos and beef jerky.
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I do like beef jerky...
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Perhaps it would be best for the economy not to recover, so people in rural areas can have cheaper gas. How much has gas gone down from the highs we were seeing?
4 cents a gallon, even on 36 gallons, at $1.44, isn't worth an extra trip even of 5 miles. Generally you have to come back the 5 miles too. 10 miles. 15 minutes extra time. To save $1.44? Oh the plight of the modern American.
Bring on the threats! Bring on the tax!
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Pendleton has a 4-cent per gallon gas tax to retire debt for a new road. It will bring in revenue from people who don’t live here and retire the debt to build the road faster, which means less general fund money must be used for interest payments.
If you have a 20-gallon tank , it costs 80 cents more to buy gas out of town, all other things being equal. It’s 7 miles from downtown to the gas station, a 14-mile round trip. If a car gets 20mpg, it “costs” 2/3 of a gallon of gas to get there. At $3 a gallon, it costs $2 to buy gas at that station outside of town. It costs about .50/mile to operate a car. So if you rely on operating costs, you actually pay $10.00 in order to save 80 cents.
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What a joy it is to have a reasonable discussion with intelligent and well-informed people! My faith in humanity is somewhat restored ... after being severely tested by the recent ranting at our poor, beleaguered legislators' town hall meetings.
Bless you all!
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Price pressure is one sure way to move public practice. We are little moved to wait for, much less demand, electric cars at $2.60/gal. Make it $3.60 and maybe we’ll see electric cars (like the Nissan “Leaf”) available in my lifetime. $4.00; even better!
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Comments are now closed.
The gas tax is the most equitable and least expensive way to collect money for transportation maintenance. If you drive, you pay, if you drive a gas guzzler you pay more. Gas prices went up 16 cents this past week, I see just as many cars on the roads. A 6 cent gas tax doesn't even begin to address our bridge & road maintanece needs. Banning local governments from collecting a local gas tax to repair local roads is spineless, special interest run our government, the people's best interest are not being addressed. Allowing roads to deteriotate ends up costing exponitally more in the long run. Climate Change needs to be tackled with a :"Carbon Tax" , if you don't want to pay the tax, drive less and help prevent climate change. Banning studded tires would go a long way to perserving our investments in roads
Jeff Bernards 503-774-5659.