Major fuel tax hike proposed for highway funding in US

WASHINGTON — A U.S. panel created to find new ways to fund road infrastructure in the U.S. is recommending gas taxes be increased by as much as 8 cents a year for the next five years. That means taxes at U.S. pumps would jump by about 40 percent between now at 2014, reports Bloomberg.

The tax increase wouldn’t go into effect until after President Bush leaves office in 2009. Bush has opposed any new taxes on fuel.

The panel, called the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission, is expected to officially release its report on Jan. 15 in Washington.

Recognizing that the U.S. highway system is critically over-capacitated near urban centers, the American Trucking Associations has generally supported fuel tax increases as a way to pay for new infrastructure projects, rather than private highway and tolling alternatives.

That doesn’t mean those options won’t also be included in the final report, however. Bloomberg quotes Janet Kavinoky, transportation director for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, as saying recommendations may also include greater use of tolls and public-private partnerships.