Cheap gas fuels tax talk.

• Author: Pula, Kevin
• Position: TRENDS

With gasoline prices at the lowest this country has seen since mid-2008, raising taxes on gas and diesel fuel has become a hot topic not only in Congress, but also in statehouses. As of Feb. 6, lawmakers in at least 12 states had proposed increases in motor fuel taxes, either by setting a new fixed amount or by indexing it to inflation.

According to state highway departments, many roads, highways and bridges are deteriorating, and new ones are not being built, due to a lack of funding. Some lawmakers believe now is a good time to reduce the growing gap between infrastructure needs and declining revenues.

For months, states have been uncertain about the future of federal transportation funding. Groups like JAAA, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Trucking Association support increasing what they call the federal fuels user fee "to provide a reliable revenue stream to support jobs, address maintenance needs and provide Americans with a safe and efficient transportation system." It hasn't increased since 1993.

Even if Congress finds a way to pass a long-term bill, more responsibility for paying for transportation likely will fall on states, so lawmakers are showing a greater willingness to take a look at state gas taxes.

But it's still a hard sell to the public. In a HuffPost/YouGov poll conducted in January, 55 percent of the respondents opposed a proposal to raise the federal gas tax by 12 cents over the next two years and link further hikes to inflation. Only 25 percent approved the increase, while 20 percent were unsure.

Opposition to gas tax hikes comes from groups like Americans for Prosperity, the Club for Growth and the Cato Institute, who argue tax hikes would do nothing to solve the greatest transportation challenge facing the country: congestion. They don't buy the idea that the roads and bridges are crumbling and argue that the problem is not...