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| Boxer Wants to Cut Gas Tax, and Increase It |
| 2013-09-30 |
| You think the headline is confusing? It is actually quite accurate. She wants to eliminate the gas tax paid by consumers and replace it with one paid by wholesalers. But the consumers wouldn't have to pay that? Really? The chairwoman of the Senate committee that oversees infrastructure projects said on Wednesday that the federal government should replace its 18.4 cents per gallon tax on gasoline purchases with a fee that is paid by oil wholesalers. Getting rid of the federal gas tax in lieu of a wholesale oil tax increase would help close an approximately $20 billion shortfall in transportation spending Congress is looking to solve, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said. The present gas tax raises about $35 billion, but is $20 B short. So we are really talking about a 57% gas tax increase cloaked in the sheep's clothing of a tax cut. Surprised? "There are many ideas out there, and the one that I'm leaning toward myself, although this is going to be a decision of the [Senate] Finance Committee ... is to do away with the per-gallon fee at the pump and replace it with this sales fee as they've done in Virginia and Maryland," Boxer said during a hearing of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. |
| Posted by:Bobby |
| #12 Thanks for the comp question. |
| Posted by: Perfesser 2013-09-30 21:35 |
| #11 Yokay, I'll bite - WHUT??? |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2013-09-30 19:41 |
| #10 If I were in charge.... I would abolish income tax withholding altogether and force everyone to write a check every month or at least have automatic deduction out of their own bank account - so that they actually *see* the money being taken from them. Then people would be a lot more concerned about their tax rate. Problem is that people have grown accustomed to thinking that their 'net pay' is what they earn and not that it is what is left after the government gets their [rather large] cut of what they earn. |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2013-09-30 18:31 |
| #9 Get rid of withholding as well. If you're gonna do that you should get rid of California's mandatory estimated pre-payment. |
| Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 2013-09-30 18:15 |
| #8 That's why I think there should only be income taxes. If people saw what they actually paid in taxes, there would be blood in the streets. Get rid of withholding as well. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2013-09-30 17:45 |
| #7 But the consumers wouldn't have to pay that? Really? Yeah, only the evil Big Corporations would have to pay that. So sayeth the liberal, so regurgitateth their mindless drones. That's why I think there should only be income taxes. If people saw what they actually paid in taxes, there would be blood in the streets. |
| Posted by: gorb 2013-09-30 14:48 |
| #6 I believe the bait is to cut out the at-the-pump tax, institute the wholesale tax, and then, in a couple years, when Short Attention Span Disorder kicks in, call for a "modest" at the pump tax. |
| Posted by: Fred 2013-09-30 13:32 |
| #5 The federal consumer gas tax would appear again in a few years. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2013-09-30 11:37 |
| #4 Boxer Wants to FIFY. All for low info voter - out of sight, out of mind, with the added bonus to be able to blame the evil oil companies as the tax rises. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2013-09-30 10:28 |
| #3 My Powerball ticket isn't taxed. Perhaps that's the only thing left. [sarc off] |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2013-09-30 08:41 |
| #2 cigarettes are more heavily taxed than petroleum products but that's an outlier |
| Posted by: lord garth 2013-09-30 08:35 |
| #1 What you see listed on the pump as taxes per gallon is but a small fraction of reality. The taxes on crude oil from the lease and wellhead to pump is absolutely staggering. Hidden taxes paid in petroleum transportation and marketing are substantial as well. Oil is probably the highest taxed commodity available. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2013-09-30 08:32 |