The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)

TCI will add costs at the pump

- By Mustafa Ayaz Mustafa Ayaz lives in Middletown.

After reading an article published on Sept. 7, titled “Lamont: Votes there to reconsider climate initiative as GOP balks over gas tax,” I wanted to provide some more informatio­n on the Transporta­tion Climate Initiative (TCI) to help shed some light on how a program like this would impact my customers. Frankly I do not care if TCI is considered a tax or not. Political spin and semantics aside — my customers do not care if you call it a tax, fee, surcharge, program or whatever — what they do know is that it will increase the cost of gasoline.

Just to be clear, TCI costs will be passed on to the public. There is no way that a small business like mine can absorb any more costs, and TCI will just increase how much you need to pay to fill up.

Many customers come and ask how much gas they can get with $5 or $6. This is a reality that they have to deal with every day, and if TCI is going to start out at 5 cents and increase to over time, it will only reduce how much fuel they can buy with the limited amount of money they have. Gasoline is not a luxury, it is essential. Our customers come here to fill up on their way to work, while they are bringing their kids to school, or on their way to the grocery store or pharmacy.

My customers have been paying the highest gas taxes in New England for years, and with states like New York and Rhode Island not participat­ing in TCI, Connecticu­t will only be adding to the cost burden that motorists in other states do not have to bear.

The purpose of the proceeds from TCI is to build an electric vehicle charging infrastruc­ture (among other things), but I question why my customers have to pay for it. Has the state looked to EV car manufactur­ers and companies who make the chargers to pay for this? If the EV industry is going to profit from this infrastruc­ture, then they should pay for it — not my customers.

Today, motorists pay a 25 cent per gallon state excise tax, 20 cents in petroleum gross earnings taxes, 18.4 cents in federal excise taxes, and now our state is considerin­g adding fourth tax that could go as highs as 25 cents if they decide to adopt TCI. That is 88.4 cents in taxes for every gallon purchased. Low income and working-class families cannot afford to carry this burden. More taxes will not lower emissions, they will only erode whatever disposable income people have.

My customers are very sensitive to gas prices. Some of them will drive several miles to another location, even if it is inconvenie­nt, to save a couple of pennies, and many have no problem registerin­g a complaint with us every time the price goes up. Experience tells me that TCI is not an insignific­ant cost that consumer will embrace; it will just add to their frustratio­n every time they need to fill up.

Back in the spring, the Connecticu­t General Assembly decided to take no action on TCI and I ask that they resist the most recent efforts to bring it back, and follow the other states in the region who have decided to not move forward with this program.

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