An editorial in the Spokesman-Review today says our lawmakers need to take a closer look at the gas tax and where it’s going. 37.5 cents-per-gallon is explicitly dedicated to highways, ferries, etc. but the rest of the tax is going to things like cleaning up hazardous waste.
With a new governor coming in and mega-projects like the North Spokane Corridor and I5 bridges over the Columbia River, the article says the legislature should go back and look at the current gas tax allocations before coming up with new transportation-related taxes. Here’s the editorial. What do you think?
With a new governor coming in and mega-projects like the North Spokane Corridor and I5 bridges over the Columbia River, the article says the legislature should go back and look at the current gas tax allocations before coming up with new transportation-related taxes. Here’s the editorial. What do you think?
I went to the candidate forum at the North East Community center, and Jeff Holy was commenting on how when the legislature sees a pot of money set aside for a specific purpose, and they need money they use that money instead of increasing taxes. He was commenting on the retirement fund for police officers, that the legislature was thinking of taking to bolster other retirement funds instead of funding the retirement fund that was low on cash. So maybe we need to keep an eye on where the legislature is getting funds.
That's a good point Charles. When most people hear 'gas tax' they automatically assume it's a tax that goes towards transportation improvements, updates or infrastructure. The Police Officer retirement fund issue sounds like a classic case of "robbing Peter to pay Paul" as the saying goes.