Utah--You can look forward to paying more at the pump thanks to an increase in the Utah gas tax. Lawmakers passed a 5 cent per gallon increase in the 2015 legislative session. This is in addition to the 24.5 cents tax that is already in place. This means Utah gas tax will increase a whopping 20%! Proponents of the law argue that this increase is necessary to meet funding for construction on Utah’s roadways. However, perhaps the better argument might be: why not use the resources we have more responsibly? How many times have you seen a Utah road under construction and when it is finished the road is torn back apart a few weeks or months later? What about Legacy Highway? This costly project did almost nothing to alleviate traffic on I-15 and because of the lower speed most commuters still opt for I-15. Next, you can look at the highly subsidized light rail. Another taxpayer-funded road project that still cannot pay for itself, and yet plans are to extend this expensive railway North to Brigham City.
An increase in the federal gas tax in also in the works in Washington, D.C. Currently federal tax is 18.4 cents per gallon. When you combine the Utah state tax and the federal gas tax you end up paying 43.4 cents for every gallon. One person on the side of the taxpayer is Senator Mike Lee, who is fighting to make it harder for the federal gas tax to go up. Lee said, "For decades, the American people have been stuck with the same dysfunctional transportation system — a transportation system that costs taxpayers more money every year, while failing to provide value with our nation’s highways, roads, bridges, and transit networks. In response, many offer Washington’s eternal promise: the status quo will work ... it just needs more money.” He goes on to say, “Specifically, the status quo needs more money from an increased federal gas tax, which currently stands at 18.4 cents per gallon,” Lee continued. “But in reality, this eternal promise is little more than an empty promise. It ignores the structural flaws in the status quo that make our transportation system so expensive in the first place, ensuring states get less value back from the Highway Trust Fund than they put in.”
While Lee is working hard to stop a federal increase, the state increase has already passed; and Utah will be paying more when they fill up. In an already struggling economy this will be an increased burden the average family will struggle to meet.
