Asa: ‘Can You Spare A Dime,’ For Fuel Taxes?

LAWMAKERS MAY BE ASKED TO FUND NEW FUEL USER FEES; VOTES ARE NOT THERE YET

The New Year may bring Governor Asa Hutchinson shilling Arkansas taxpayers much like the old line from the Great Depression Era.

“Hey buddy, can you spare a dime?”

But this dime may be added on direct fuel taxes at the pump, which may come in many, many suggested forms to fund highways, county roads and city streets in Arkansas.

The “ask” will be complicated.

Most tax or fee increases are difficult, if not impossible to obtain, in these days of ‘no tax’ political pledges. Add to that mantra, are all those promises, whether practical or not, spouted by many in political office to actually decrease the size of state government.

The even more daunting campaign issue is the often lamented promise to wean the state off the dependence on the federal government for funding — such as highways, roads and bridges.

But that too, is very, very hard to accomplish.

Everyone, however is happy, oh so very happy about the current low prices of gasoline for our cars, pick- up trucks and other forms of personal transportation.

Would state taxpayers at these low fuel rates even notice a slight uptick in the state’s taxable portion of the price of a gallon of gas?

Some advisors to Gov. Hutchinson hope they can convince the chief executive and a majority of legislators that the increase would not be noticed.

Or at least not “noticed” to the degree to enrage the majority of Arkansas taxpayers.

The zero tax folks, well, they’ve always got their stinger out about something.

New and better highways in Arkansas don’t and won’t get built on yesterday’s tax revenues. This we know.

The state, simply, needs more tax money to build, maintain and keep up with the highway needs of Arkansas.

A check of area gas stations proudly shows $1.51 cents per gallon at last check. What if that total was $ 1.61, wouldn’t we still be happy?

So now, many on the Hutchinson appointed Working Group on Highway Funding have spoken out about raising the state’s fuel tax.

Before I go further Mr. and Mrs. Taxpayer, to increase the fuel user fee, raise the current state share of the state’s tax portion on a gallon of gas, will be small to individual consumers. The more gas you buy, the more the impact.

There are also other sources of tax money sought for highways, but today let us focus on adding an additional per gallon tax to the cost of a gallon of fuel.

So how did the discussion get to this “dime a gallon increase?”

Well, back in the fall, Craig Douglass, executive director of the Arkansas Good Roads Foundation, said he would support increasing the state’s gasoline and diesel taxes by 10 cents per gallon.

Remember this: Mr. Douglass is a non-elected official with a benevolent organization of business interests that want and advocate for better highways in the state. He does have “skin” in this game, but not tied to a re-election bid.

Another member of the Highway Working Group, State Highway Commission member, Frank Scott Jr., said he would favor an increase of 15 cents – phased in a nickel at a time. Mr. Scott is also a non-elected political appointee.

Others, such as Randy Zook, the head of the Arkan- sas Chamber of Commerce said start with 3 to 5 cents and then a penny a year over the next six years.

From the state comes the warning that in addition to a short-term need for matching funds to obtain federal dollars for highway projects, state highway officials have identified $20.4 billion in needs over the next decade, with only $3.6 billion in revenue for highways expected in that time. There is no easy answer. Brother taxpayer, at the gasoline pump, can you spare a dime?

MAYLON RICE, AN AWARDWINNING COLUMNIST, HAS WRITTEN BOTH NEWS AND COLUMNS FOR SEVERAL NWA PUBLICATIONS AND HAS BEEN WRITING FOR THE ENTERPRISELEADER FOR SEVERAL YEARS.