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Monday, October 31, 2005
Daily No On I-912: Grandpa's gas tax
Inherent in the argument to say no to the recent gas-tax increase, as Initiative 912 backers would have voters do, is that people can't afford to pay it. But adjusted for inflation and the higher average gas mileage for most vehicles, the gas tax is taking a historically small bite.
According to calculations by Paul Symington, who just completed his MBA at Gonzaga University, the state gas tax rate in the mid-1930s was once the equivalent of more than 70 cents a gallon, in 2005 dollars. And because cars are more efficient, the gas tax paid per 1,000 miles driven has fallen from $35 in 1965 to $18 today for the same distance. [Note: these figures have been corrected online]
And even when the full 9.5-cent increase is phased in four years from now, the gas tax will still take a smaller cut from your wallet than it did from your grandfathers'.
Another reason to vote no on I-912.
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