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Missouri gas tax increase passes
The Missouri Legislature has passed a gas tax that would increase the fuel tax by 12 and a half cents over five years and give most drivers the choice of getting a rebate.
Republican Representative Greg Sharpe, of Ewing in northeast Missouri, says rural areas need it, “The rural areas, I think, need to get some of it back because we cannot pass a one or two-percent sales tax in some of these little rural counties. It wouldn’t generate enough money to amount to anything. So, we’re needing MODOT to be funded.”
Fellow Republican Jason Chipman of southern Missouri’s Steelville called the user fee a regressive tax, “Who’s going to get hurt the most? Poor people. Poor people drive older cars. Older cars get worse gas mileage. They’re going to be buying more gas.”
When the bill is fully phased in, the average passenger car driver traveling 12,000 miles a year would pay an extra 70-dollars per year.
The bill could raise about 500-million dollars a year to help fund Missouri’s roads and bridges. Governor Parson says he’ll sign it.
This is the first gas tax increase in Missouri in about 25 years.
~Thanks to Missourinet
