When you buy gasoline, 20 cents of each gallon goes into a fund for roads, bridges, and other transportation needs. But a new report from the Legislative Auditor says the money generated isn’t nearly enough. The tax was set thirty two years ago and is not indexed for inflation. Department of Transportation Secretary Shawn Wilson says he agrees with the findings.
“But it highlights the fact that the reality of how we fund transportation is changing. That we need an all of the above approach and the legislature has responded with the vehicle sales tax,” Wilson says.
Wilson says thanks to a new law, starting next year, up to 60-percent of the vehicle sales tax you’re already paying will be used for transportation projects, up to $300 million a year. But he says the state needs more revenue in order to make a dent in a 15-billion dollar backlog. The DOTD secretary says the audit notes that other states use a variety of transportation funding sources, including vehicle fees, tolls, and even cigarette taxes.
“And it is going to take a new approach to saying ‘how do we deliver all of the projects that the community wants’, or accept the fact that we cannot necessarily have everything that we want or accept the fact that we cannot necessarily have everything that we want and only begin to deliver what we need,” he says
The audit says 22 other states adjust their gasoline taxes for inflation, but Louisiana doesn’t. Wilson has lobbied lawmakers in the past to increase the state’s gasoline tax, but those efforts failed and he doesn’t expect the issue to come up again next year, which is an election year.
“I can’t predict what the legislature will do in terms of the actual gas tax but we have to be informed and understand that the marketplace is changing.”
Earlier this year lawmakers approved an annual fee for those who own hybrid and electric vehicles.
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