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TexasTowelie

(111,313 posts)
Sun Apr 19, 2020, 08:19 PM Apr 2020

Highway funding, which relies on gas tax, will be hard hit as fuel sales decline

As people hunker down at home, with few places to go but the grocery store, congestion has all but disappeared from our highways and freeways.

Because people aren’t driving much, gasoline sales are projected to decrease by more than half during the pandemic.

That means revenue from per-gallon gas taxes also will plummet, and that worries state transportation departments, which rely primarily on gas taxes to fund their highway budgets.

How big of a problem could Wisconsin be facing?

Before the COVID-19 outbreak, the state Legislative Fiscal Bureau projected the motor fuel tax would generate $1.08 billion in 2019-20. That’s more than half of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s total annual revenue, which comes to about $1.99 billion.

Read more: https://dailyreporter.com/2020/04/17/highway-funding-which-relies-on-gas-tax-will-be-hard-hit-as-fuel-sales-decline/
(Milwaukee Daily Reporter)

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Highway funding, which relies on gas tax, will be hard hit as fuel sales decline (Original Post) TexasTowelie Apr 2020 OP
I wouldn't think hwy maint. will get worse because lack of hwy use accompanie it. When this mess is napi21 Apr 2020 #1
This message was self-deleted by its author Sherman A1 Apr 2020 #2
The GOP lowered taxes on trucks recently. SmartVoter22 Apr 2020 #3

napi21

(45,806 posts)
1. I wouldn't think hwy maint. will get worse because lack of hwy use accompanie it. When this mess is
Sun Apr 19, 2020, 08:24 PM
Apr 2020

over, gas sales will resume along with the hwy. tax funds.

Response to TexasTowelie (Original post)

SmartVoter22

(639 posts)
3. The GOP lowered taxes on trucks recently.
Tue Apr 21, 2020, 01:41 PM
Apr 2020

Raisethe semi-truck road taxes back up, and build a damn pipeline for fuels to get to Green Bay,
Everything comes by truck now, because Gov. Scott Walker and the GOP are too cheap to repair the 60+ yr old pipline that broke and is probably still leaking fuels underground along the route. It would also be a great project to employ those who lost jobs during the pandemic.

or, change the requirement that road repairs & construction can only use road taxes. It might be time to re-evaluate how we raise taxes and what they get spent on. If road taxes penalize regular consumers while subsidizing commercial transport, we should flip that one on it's head.

Stop subsidizing commercial use. If they want to use roads for commerce, well those taxes are just part of doing business.

The GOP's mindset of "no-cost commerce' is nonsense. Especially with our roads.

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