Users Should Pay
Governor Heineman is proposing a change to Nebraska’s gas tax that would render the tax static—stuck at $0.26 per gallon—rather than variable. He claims doing so “will eliminate the fight about it in the budget”. I disagree.
While it may be strictly true that budget disagreements won’t involve the gas tax, the fight over funding state roads will simply move elsewhere. Currently Nebraska’s state roads are funded through what basically amount to user fees—the gas tax, vehicle-related fees, and so on. The Governor’s plan would potentially allow the roads budget to invade other funding sources, in effect taking money away from other state services. That, or the roads budget could face even larger funding problems than it faces now.
The gas tax isn’t perfect as a user fee. Variances in vehicle gas mileage, for example, don’t necessarily reflect each vehicle’s relative impact on state roads. Tracking vehicle mileage on state roads would be much better from a funding standpoint, with the exception of that tiny little problem of allowing the government to track your every move.
What changes, if any, would you propose to the gas tax?
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