If you oppose a gas tax increase, do the math

According to this Washington Post article, 80% of Virginians opposed a 15-cent a gallon gas tax increase in a recent public opinion poll.

First, these polls are fundamentally flawed.  I won’t go into the statistical details- that topic will require a post of its’ own.  But when pollsters offered the question to Virginians, they failed to mention that the governor’s proposed alternative to a gas tax is a 1% sales tax increase on everything except food.   The results of the poll would be quite different if people had to face the reality of the cost of everything else going up.

Second, “15 cents a gallon” is an arbitrary number.  No one in Virginia’s General Assembly has proposed such a large increase, and in fact state Sen. Richard Saslaw is taking about a 6 cent a gallon gas tax increase.  The poll has no validity because the number is much higher than what is really needed and it did not mention the alternative sales tax increase.

Gas is too expensive as it is and no one wants the price to go up further due to taxes.  But do the math- 6 cents a gallon on gas or 1% of everything else?   For the majority of Virginia’s citizens, the 6 cents a gallon is the cheaper option.

Gov. Kaine’s new Transportation funding plan

MORE TAXES! The details of the plan are in this Washington Post article.

Please contact your state Delegate and Senator to voice your concerns. You can find out who your state representatives are using the GA’s Who’s My Legislator page.

Below is the letter I sent to Del. Mark Sickles and state Sen. Toddy Puller regarding the proposal:

Sen. Puller and Del. Sickles,

First, I would like to thank both of you for your support on the
“abuser fees” issue and commend you for your work in getting the fees
repealed.

I am contacting you today about several concerns I have regarding Gov.
Kaine’s new transportation funding bill.

For starters, I’d like to know what measures- if any- were taken to
use existing funds more efficiently and/or cut waste before new taxes
are proposed. The state government should ensure that it is using the
people’s money as responsibly as possible before requesting more money
from its constituents.

Second, the governor is proposing a $10 increase in the vehicle
registration fee. Any flat tax is a regressive tax and hurts lower
income Virginians first. Granted, it is only $10, but Virginians
already pay registration fees, safety inspections, emissions
inspections (in some areas), decal fees (in most areas) and the
infamous personal property tax, owning a vehicle in VA is already very
expensive. Public transportation is insufficient in most of the
state, so owning a car is a necessity for most people and the
government already capitalizes off that fact more than it should.