Could Restructuring the Gas Tax Fund the Transportation Bill?

Sean Roche at Network blog Newton Streets and Sidewalks agrees with the impulse to restructure the gas tax, but says the proposal may not go far enough to bring fuel taxes in line with infrastructure spending:

Adoption of an ad valorem gas tax would be a step in the right direction. “Spending on road construction and maintenance grew almost exactly in line with the economy from 1994 to 2008 – a 102 percent increase.” As a consequence, “federal, state and local governments grew road spending faster than road revenues by borrowing more and by diverting general tax revenues to spend on roads.”

Ultimately, though, simply stemming the backward march of gas-tax revenue is not enough. We need to make up lost ground. We need to account for the impact of increased fuel economy. And, we need to capture more of the costs of driving from those who drive (or consume goods that have been shipped). One of the virtues of switching to an ad valorem gas tax, though, is that it has no immediate impact, but preps for the future.

It’s just math. Federal and state gas taxes are too low.