Iowans For Tax Relief: Six steps before raising gas tax

February 9, 2015 2:30 pm·

Pumping GasBy The Iowa Statesman

 

It’s no secret Iowans For Tax Relief is adamantly opposed to the proposed 10-cent increase in Iowa’s motor fuel taxes. The group recently released a document that offers some alternatives to gas tax increases.

“The high-pressure push for a 10-cents per gallon gas tax increase violates the key principle that raising taxes should always be the last resort, after every other possible solution has been tried and failed,” it states. “This is especially true for the gas tax. Ten cents would be a 45.5% increase in this one tax — from 22 cents (21 cents plus one-cent tax on gasoline put into underground storage) to 32 cents per gallon.”

“We believe the Iowa Legislature for 50 years has never seriously considered this big a percent age raise of any tax,” it continues. “The gas tax is Iowa’s most regressive tax, hitting hardest our low-income Iowans plus low-to-middle-income Iowans who must drive many miles to work or school.”

The six-step proposal outlines what actions should be taken before the Iowa General Assembly considers raising the motor fuel taxes. You can read the entire document by clicking here.