ARTBA proposes tax hikes, rebates to fund transportation

WASHINGTON—A 15-cent increase in the federal and gasoline diesel fuel tax, tied to a 100-percent offsetting tax rebate for middle- and working-class families, could fund state highway, bridge and transit projects for the next 10 years, according to the American Road & Transportation Builders Association.

ARTBA President & CEO Pete Ruane introduced the plan—which the association calls “Getting Beyond Gridlock”—at a March 12 teleconference. At the same conference, Ruane also unveiled a six-year, $401 billion highway and mass transit capital investment proposal that would be funded by the fuel tax increase and rebate. Under the ARTBA plan, a single tax filer with an adjusted gross income of $100,000 or less would be eligible for an annual tax rebate of $90, which the association said would be the annual cost per tax filer of a 15-cent-per-gallon fuel tax increase. In his remarks during the teleconference, Ruane urged lawmakers not to resort to any one-time gimmicks to provide money for the Highway Trust Fund, as they have done in the past. “That won't resolve the structural damage that's been done to the Highway Trust Fund, nor will it allow states to do the long-range capital planning that the nation needs,” he said. Congress must pass a transportation reauthorization bill by the end of May to avoid total depletion of the Highway Trust Fund.