Most Americans for the Gas Tax
Posted on Thu, Jun 30, 2011 @ 10:44 AM
A poll from the Mineta Transportation Institute showed that under certain
circumstances, Americans were for a new tax on gas. The poll, “What Do Americans Think About Federal Transportation Tax Options? Results from Year 2 of a National Survey”, is a national random-digit-dial public opinion survey that asked 1,516 respondents if they would support various tax options for raising federal transportation revenues. The problem is with the current gas tax and with the increasing number of fuel efficient cars on the road; the government isn’t generating enough revenue to keep roads in good condition. A new tax would be centered on public opinion and would seek to end the lack of revenue issue.
Americans were not all for the tax, but in certain instances a majority was for the conditional tax. For example, a gas tax increase of 10¢ per gallon to improve road maintenance was supported by 62% of respondents, whereas support levels dropped to just 24% if the revenues were to be used more generally to maintain and improve the transportation system. The conclusion from this would be that Americans like to see where their tax money is going so if they can see roads improving, they can stomach paying a higher tax. Also, at least 50% supported an increase of 10¢ per gallon with the revenues dedicated either to projects reducing accidents and improving safety or projects to “add more modern, technologically advanced systems.”
The 18 question survey found that the public was much more drawn to a sales tax than to either of the other two options. The other two taxes were a gas tax increase or a new mileage tax. However, with certain stipulations the support for the two alternate taxes increased. For example, instead of a flat rate mileage tax of 1¢ per mile and a 10¢ gas tax increase, a mileage tax varying by the vehicle’s pollution level increased support by 14 percentage points. For the gas tax, dedicating the tax proceeds to maintaining streets, roads, and highways increased support by 38 percentage points.
The results seem to point to one main result; the American public is willing to fork over the extra cash as long as they get to see exactly where the money goes. If the taxes are raised and no visible improvement is made to something of use to them (i.e. roads) then there will be outrage and a call for the tax to be lowered or directed at a different cause.