The state of Utah presently has a 24.5-cents-per-gallon tax on gasoline, a figure that has remained static for nearly two decades. But now, in the face of overwhelming infrastructure problems and a dubious source of federal funding over the next several years, some state lawmakers, including those from the traditionally tax-averse GOP, are entertaining the possibility of increasing the gas tax.
As the 2015 legislative agenda is being set, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have been able to come to initial terms on one thing: it is time to change the way Utah has been doing things. The method of that change will be what sees debate in session. Republican leaders are, at present, split over whether to arrange the per-gallon tax as a sales tax that then adjusts annually, or to simply keep the tax in category and boost it by 5 to 10 cents per gallon.
Utah is looking at a $11.3 billion gap in it transportation funding through 2040, so what must be impressed upon either side’s opposition is the fact that what measures are finally, ultimately, taken, they must be sustainable and dependable. The state’s thousands of roads are deteriorating at a steady, and in some regions, alarming, rate. An urgency, which was overlooked in years past when federal funding, while limited, was steady, has now come to head.
"We do not have a hole, but we see one in front of us, and we're trying to fill it before we get to it," said Carlos Braceras, Utah Department of Transportation executive director, who further commented that while lawmakers have created a Transportation Investment Fund to pay for adding capacity to the state's highway system, gas tax revenues are used to cover the lion’s share of aging road maintenance cost. "It's a struggle.”
Perhaps an understatement. The buying power of the 24.5-cent gas tax is actually about 16 cents, when adjusted for inflation. And while state governor Gary Herbert has not recommended a gas tax increase in his 2016 budget proposal, he is using his weight to drive discussion of the issue, by asking lawmakers to slough off a sales tax earmark for roads to free up funding for schools. Moreover, the governor was recently quoted by the Deseret News that "now is the time" to raise the gas tax. Boosting the per-gallon tax, imposing a sales tax or some combination of both—it seems any one is as feasible at this juncture as another.
Other topics on the table are tolling options and the possibility of per-mile taxation, though the latter would be difficult to sustain given the nature of Utah’s landscape and roads system.
