Gas tax hikes are set to increase in some states at the start of the new year. USA TODAY
Construction work is seen at the 826 and 836 State Road Interchange on July 30, 2015 in Miami, Fla. (Photo: Joe Raedle, Getty Images)
Motorists in nine states will see changes in gas taxes at the pump on New Year’s Day, and more than a dozen states will examine adjustments in 2017.
Pennsylvania has the largest gas tax in the country, at 50.4 cents per gallon, according to the Tax Foundation. The rate will rise 7.9 cents per gallon in the new year, based on a 2013 law.
The other big increase is in Michigan, where the gas tax is 30.54 cents per gallon, according to the foundation. That rate will rise 7.3 cents per gallon, based on a 2015 law.
Nebraska’s rate of 27.7 cents per gallon will go up 1.5 cents per gallon, as part of a four-step hike approved in 2015.
Georgia, North Carolina, Indiana and Florida will each see modest gas tax increases of less than a penny per gallon, based on automatic adjustments in those states, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.
Two states — New York and West Virginia — will have slight reductions based on automatic adjustments, according to the institute. The Empire State’s rate will fall 0.8 cents per gallon, and the Mountain State’s rate will drop 1 cent per gallon.
The hikes reflect state efforts to balance budgets for road construction and maintenance when Congress hasn't raised the federal gas tax of 18.4 cents per gallon since 1993. State transportation officials and the construction industry contend federal funding hasn't kept pace with inflation and more fuel-efficient cars.
USA TODAY
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Voters in 22 states approved ballot initiatives Nov. 8 totaling more than $200 billion for state and local transportation projects, according to the American Road and Transportation Builders Association. The funding for those measures was largely through sales and property taxes.
State legislatures are likely to debate gas taxes as New Year’s resolutions in 2017.
“Altogether, it appears that more than a dozen states will seriously debate gas tax changes next year,” said Carl Davis, research director at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.
Alaska hasn’t raised its gas tax since 1970 and has the lowest rate in the country, according to the Tax Foundation. Gov. Bill Walker proposed Dec. 15 to triple the gas tax over the next two years as part of his budget.
The rate of 8 cents per gallon will double July 1, 2017, and add another 8 cents per gallon July 1, 2018, if the proposal is approved.
“We can’t cut our way to prosperity,” Walker said of the state cutting its budget 44% since 2013.
New Jersey increased its rate by 23 cents to 37.5 on Nov. 1 in the first gas tax hike for the state since 1988. The Garden State's previous rate of 14.5 cents per gallon had been the second-lowest in the nation after Alaska, according to the Tax Foundation. Republican Gov. Chris Christie negotiated the increase with the Democratic Legislature to support road projects while lowering sales, estate and income taxes.
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