Ohio Gas Tax Increase

[Wolf359]

Originally Posted by grampi
I like the fact they're getting rid of the front license plate requirement, but one could ask, what are they doing with all of the revenues they're currently collecting in taxes for the roads, and why isn't it enough?


It'd be interesting to see what the actual budgets are. My guess is that in 20+ years, things like the cost of labor, minimum wage, cost of materials, pensions etc have all gone up. Yet if the income stays the same or drops because of better fuel economy then off course the existing maintenance won't be enough to maintain the roads. Plus some roads/bridges are only designed to last 50-60 years and you reach a point where you have to spend money to replace them. That probably wasn't the case 20+ years ago.

Most of the rantings seem to be from people who don't understand basic economics.

Originally Posted by atikovi
Originally Posted by Reddy45
The tax on the EVs makes sense because Teslas use the same roads as every other car and induce wear and tear in the same manner.


Except public policy should encourage saving gas by rewarding those buying electric cars, not taxing them more. The electricity isn't free or without taxes and fees.


Public policy needs to be paid for by taxes. There's no free lunch. The taxes paid on electricity is basically for those who use their electricity in their homes. Your light bulb isn't also on the roads tearing it up.

 

[Astro14]

While fuel taxes are irritating, the simple point is this: cars use less fuel per mile of road traveled than they used to. Electrics use zero fuel, and thus, pay zero taxes towards road maintenance.

Road maintenance per mile hasn't gotten any cheaper.

If you want to pay for road maintenance, the tax/gallon has to go up so that the tax for each mile traveled by a user/vehicle remains relatively similar and you have to have a way for electrics to pay for their use of roads.

 

[rshaw125]

Originally Posted by ediamiam
Looks like they took a page out of California play book. More gas taxes for infrastructure. California played games for years with those gas taxes, moving them into general fund for leftist pet projects. They raised the taxes under the guise of necessity for road repair. Worse, the public voted to retain the increase. Ughh!


That's what they did here in NC. Transferred our surplus into the general fund never to be seen again. Their other scam is 'for the children'.

 

[skyactiv]

My custom home I had built is set up to charge 3 electric vehicles at one time; 2 in the garage and a guest post in the driveway. People who have electric vehicles need to pay their fair share of taxes to maintain public roads. The petroleum industry pays taxes just like the power generation industry. If anything, electric vehicle owners haven't been contributing their fair share to maintain the roads. Quite frankly, the poor are paying more and the only people at the moment buying electric vehicles and new hybrids tend to be well off. Ohio is doing the right thing.

 

[ragtoplvr]

Rust takes up more space than steel, and the expansion crack the concrete.

The fuel taxes are fair, the ones using the roads pay for them.Diesel is higher because 100 PSI truck tires erode concrete faster.

The EV tax is too low, so we are still encouraging EV's.

Rod

 

[GenesisGuy70]

I used to live in Ohio and I would've FULLY supported this gas tax increase, if anything I think it should've been higher (and I think the Governor wanted more). Every road in that wretched state is a disaster.

 

[Jimzz]

Originally Posted by Reddy45
I see nothing here that is controversial. Nobody wants to pay additional gas taxes, but if you want nice roads then that's the most logical way to fund them. The tax on the EVs makes sense because Teslas use the same roads as every other car and induce wear and tear in the same manner.



I agree 100% with this. Gas tax helps pay for roads, and right now it does not even pay 100% of that.
The Gax tax is to low for current needs and should be raised. Since gas is low this is the best time to do so.

And I have no problem with EVs paying a little more as well since they do not pay a gas tax. $100-200 a year is fair.

 

[TurboLuver]

I would like to see a current line item budget. I want to know exactly how much is being taken in from gas taxes, vehicle registration fee's etc..
and where/how it is being spent.

I found a 2007 document from the Ohio Department of Public Safety that shows the total vehicle registration revenue ($464,035,986.74) add to that the ($1,848,000,000) in current gas tax revenue (this number didn't come from
an official government source, came from Dayton Daily News article) and that comes to over $2.3 billion in revenue per year.

 

[Jimzz]

Originally Posted by grampi
I like the fact they're getting rid of the front license plate requirement, but one could ask, what are they doing with all of the revenues they're currently collecting in taxes for the roads, and why isn't it enough?



The Fed Gov raised over 35 billion in fuel taxes in 2014 but spent over 45 billion on highways and roads. So even if you do not own a care or drive you are still paying for roads and their upkeep.
The gas tax is not indexed to take into account inflation so it has not kept up. The last gas tax increase at the federal level was 1993. So I am not sure how big the difference is now since has prices have bene down but its probably larger now than it was 5 years ago.

 

[Jimzz]

Originally Posted by TurboLuver
I would like to see a current line item budget. I want to know exactly how much is being taken in from gas taxes, vehicle registration fee's etc..
and where/how it is being spent.

I found a 2007 document from the Ohio Department of Public Safety that shows the total vehicle registration revenue ($464,035,986.74) add to that the ($1,848,000,000) in current gas tax revenue (this number didn't come from
an official government source, came from Dayton Daily News article) and that comes to over $2.3 billion in revenue per year.



Don't complain to much as other states look at Ohio for its much better roads.

https://www.clickondetroit.com/news...re-so-much-better-than-roads-in-Michigan

"Why are the roads in Ohio so much better than the roads in Michigan?
The secret to success in Ohio comes down to money, and when you see the numbers, you might realize why Michigan is far behind other nearby states."

 

[SZR48207]

Originally Posted by atikovi
Originally Posted by Reddy45
The tax on the EVs makes sense because Teslas use the same roads as every other car and induce wear and tear in the same manner.


Except public policy should encourage saving gas by rewarding those buying electric cars, not taxing them more. The electricity isn't free or without taxes and fees.



Owning fuel efficient vehicles and funding road repairs are completely different things, and has been pointed out in this thread, run opposite to each other. (a more fuel efficient vehicle consumes less fuel during its life, and when roads are fixed by gasoline taxes, then less taxes are paid)

 

[RamFan]

Originally Posted by Reddy45
I see nothing here that is controversial. Nobody wants to pay additional gas taxes, but if you want nice roads then that's the most logical way to fund them. The tax on the EVs makes sense because Teslas use the same roads as every other car and induce wear and tear in the same manner.

Glad you lost the front plate requirement!


x2

 

[grampi]

Originally Posted by Jimzz
Originally Posted by TurboLuver
I would like to see a current line item budget. I want to know exactly how much is being taken in from gas taxes, vehicle registration fee's etc..
and where/how it is being spent.

I found a 2007 document from the Ohio Department of Public Safety that shows the total vehicle registration revenue ($464,035,986.74) add to that the ($1,848,000,000) in current gas tax revenue (this number didn't come from
an official government source, came from Dayton Daily News article) and that comes to over $2.3 billion in revenue per year.



Don't complain to much as other states look at Ohio for its much better roads.

https://www.clickondetroit.com/news...re-so-much-better-than-roads-in-Michigan


"Why are the roads in Ohio so much better than the roads in Michigan?
The secret to success in Ohio comes down to money, and when you see the numbers, you might realize why Michigan is far behind other nearby states."




Michigan's gov has been promising better roads for years. They keep raising revenues, but the money never seems to go for roads. Nobody seems to know what the money is being squandered on, but somehow it never ends up improving the roads. I'm just hoping OH isn't doing the same thing...

 

[PimTac]

Here in WA the gas tax goes into the general fund. It has for years. Many years ago when the roads were horrible this was found out and a huge brouhaha erupted. The state proposed a 5¢ increase to be solely for the roads and nothing else. The voters passed it and some month later found out that nickel was going into the general fund as well.

Not only do we have high fuel taxes in WA but we also have high registration fees as well. Buying a new car gets you that extra sting when you pay the 10% sales tax plus several hundred or more in registration. We are reminded each year.

 

[oil_film_movies]

Originally Posted by Reddy45
Originally Posted by atikovi
Originally Posted by Reddy45
The tax on the EVs makes sense because Teslas use the same roads as every other car and induce wear and tear in the same manner.
Except public policy should encourage saving gas by rewarding those buying electric cars, not taxing them more. The electricity isn't free or without taxes and fees.
Owning fuel efficient vehicles and funding road repairs are completely different things, and has been pointed out in this thread, run opposite to each other. (a more fuel efficient vehicle consumes less fuel during its life, and when roads are fixed by gasoline taxes, then less taxes are paid)
An electric car owner pays taxes to the electrical utility grid that gasoline cars don't. Therefore, gasoline cars should have a tax to the electric grid instead of freeloading like they do, avoiding electrical taxes with those new-fangled gasoline engines.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

They way over built new highway interchanges off I-93 in NH at exit 2 and 3. Poorest most costly designs I've ever seen. Horrendous waste going to BIg construction companies. Yes there are jobs but not a large qty/dollar.

Went from little to no traffic or backups and 2 lights to 5 lights and tons of traffic and 1/4 mile backups with controlled intersection exits instead of merges. Argggh.

So I resigned my job a couple -three years early at age 62..

No more commute horrors.

Point? the highway constr, jobs in many cases could be done 5X more efficiently.

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

Originally Posted by ragtoplvr
people have demonstrated an inability to drive on slick roads, and road salt destroys roads. You got to pay somewhere.

Rod


Maybe the driving tests need to include a slick/snowy/icy roads test scored on a points system, and require 80% or more to get or renew your license. Just because you can identify road signs doesn't mean you're qualified to drive on them.

 

[Hall]

Originally Posted by Jimzz
Don't complain to much as other states look at Ohio for its much better roads.

https://www.clickondetroit.com/news...re-so-much-better-than-roads-in-Michigan

"Why are the roads in Ohio so much better than the roads in Michigan?
The secret to success in Ohio comes down to money, and when you see the numbers, you might realize why Michigan is far behind other nearby states."

What's funny - yet true - is when driving up I-75 you can feel / hear / see the dramatic difference in the roadway once you cross the border. MI's portion of I-75 is horrible compared to OH's.

 

[Hall]

Originally Posted by ediamiam
Looks like they took a page out of California play book. More gas taxes for infrastructure. California played games for years with those gas taxes, moving them into general fund for leftist pet projects. They raised the taxes under the guise of necessity for road repair. Worse, the public voted to retain the increase. Ughh!

In public discussions about this proposal, this is the first time I've really heard "the people" emphasize that the increased funding only, only, only go towards road repairs and not shuffled to other areas. If that is the case, the general public was more or less accepting of this tax increase.

 

[CT8]

The cost of the politicians and unionized government employees the welfare class and the accountability of the government as to where the money goes is statying to rear its ugly head allover the nation.. Too much of the tax payers wealth gets transferred over seas for "aid" criminal and a endless wars with out profit.