Gas Tax: A More Rational Plan For Virginia Transportation Funding

Today's Washington Post reports that a bipartisan group of Virginia state senators will offer a transportation bill funded largely by a sales tax on gasoline.

This is a much more sensible proposal than the lame "compromise" outlined a few days ago by Virginia house Republicans. Some of Virginia's Republicans, especially those in the House of Delegates, have this thing about taxes. In their view, no matter what the issue, taxes should be off the table. That's an unproductive view that has led to an unproductive stalemate on transportation funding.

After underfunding transportation for years, Virginia legislators now face voter wrath from folks, especially in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads, who are mired in all-day traffic jams on inadequate roads. When a problem is caused by underfunding, one of the solutions has to be raising taxes.

Instead of taxing gasoline, however, Virginia's house Republicans would raise revenue through a hodge-podge of measures, some of which have little to do with roads. They would also steal $250 million from other existing state programs and shift it to roads, creating new problems in the process.

Placing a sales tax on gasoline to fund roads is a direct solution with several major advantages. First, out of state motorists who use Virginia's highways will contribute to funding those roads when they purchase fuel in the state. Second, higher gas prices will help discourage wasteful exurban development by penalizing drivers with the longest commutes--the same people who use those expensive roads the most. It will also encourage behaviors--carpooling, use of mass transit--that take cars off the road and thus decrease the need for additional highways.

In addition, higher gas prices will also encourage Virginians to switch to vehicles with better gas mileage, which will improve our energy security and reduce carbon emissions.

Imposing a 5 percent sales tax on gasoline--the measure proposed by the Senators--will add $1.25 to a $25 purchase of fuel. That's not an unreasonable cost for all motorists to bear for an adequate road system. Furthermore, it would still leave gas prices far below the peaks they reached last summer. True, prices may rise again. But that's not a bad thing--higher gas prices will encourage the development of alternatives that, in the end, will be far better than relying on ever increasing amounts of foreign oil.