Excise tax on motor fuels

May 2

The Washington Post

There is an upside to President Trump’s unorthodox style of communication: Sometimes he comes out with a good idea that a less mercurial national figure might avoid out of conventional political caution. So it was with his remark during an interview with Bloomberg News, to the effect that he “would certainly consider” increasing the federal excise tax on motor fuels to help pay for an increase in federal infrastructure spending. …

Mr. Trump said he has been influenced by a friend in the trucking industry, which both benefits from a well-maintained road system and suffers from an insufficient one, in the form of congestion and vehicle damage. Accordingly, American Trucking Associations has long favored higher fuel taxes. The user-fee approach to paying for the roads makes sense for ordinary motorists as well: It’s penny-wise and pound-foolish to resist slightly higher prices at the pump, because automobile drivers, too, must pay for pothole-caused damage and time lost to traffic.

Of course no one likes to pay more for fuel; policy should be adjusted to help mitigate the impact of this inevitably regressive levy on those who can least afford it. Still, at $2.38 per gallon, Tuesday’s nationwide average price of regular gasoline was less than what Americans paid 70 years ago, adjusted for inflation. The tax increase needed to cover currently planned Highway Trust Fund spending would be small — roughly a dime per gallon, according to a 2015 Congressional Budget Office report . Ideally, Congress and the Trump administration could agree to a significantly larger amount, then index it to inflation permanently to assure the trust fund’s long-term stability.

By the way, a higher gas tax would help reduce fuel consumption and thus would be extremely effective in combating climate change as well. Admittedly, that’s not exactly one of Mr. Trump’s favorite causes. But he wouldn’t have to include it in his talking points.