The Gas Tax Is A Fair Tax – Raise It If You Must

Middlesex County Democrat John Wisniewski, chairman of the Assembly Transportation Committee, called for bipartisan support to raise the tax on gas from 14.5-cent-a-gallon tax to 29.5 cents. The increase would more than double the $2.2 billion in federal and state funds available to keep up with annual highway, bridge and transit maintenance and improvements.

Building and maintaining public infrastructure such as highways, bridges and transit we believe to be a legitimate role of government. We also believe taxing people in a manner that maintains a direct relationship between the amount of public services used by the individual and the taxes they pay, is a fair system. A gas tax, is a flat tax, the same rate applies to everyone. The more gas used and miles driven the more a person will pay. What system could be more fair?

What’s the alternative – get someone else to pay for the services you use? You’re all for tax the other guy - but not me? Is that a fair plan? As long as the politicians use the revenues generated from the gas tax strictly for roads and related transpiration infrastructure, he have no problem with a gas tax increase. Public infrastructure should be self-financing through tolls, fares, and other transportation related consumption taxes.