As efforts to increase the federal excise tax on motor fuels remain politically frozen, several states have either passed or are pushing increases to or restructuring of their excise motor-fuel taxes to help shore up empty or shrinking infrastructure funds.
According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, 12 states are attempting to leap through the window created by 2015’s relatively low gasoline prices. Among the first movers is Iowa, where Gov. Terry Branstad signed a 10-cent-per-gallon increase, the state’s first in more than 26 years.
Also noteworthy: Most of these states are led by Republican governors, showing that infrastructure funding has become a bipartisan issue.
Another sign of building momentum: In 2013, six states passed or restructured their gasoline tax, vs. only two in 2014.
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