State task force recommends raising Missouri's gas tax

Nearly everyone seems to agree that additional investments need to be made in Missouri's aging infrastructure.

Where the disagreement begins, though, is in considering how to raise the money.

In an 87-page report released on Jan. 1, the 21st Century Missouri Transportation Task Force, a 23-member group of lawmakers and industry experts, made a number of recommendations for improving the state's nearly 34,000-mile highway system and more than 10,000 bridges, including an increase in the state's gas tax.

The group's recommendation with regard to the tax was to increase it by 10 cents for gasoline and 12 cents for diesel fuel. The gas tax is a flat, per-gallon amount collected on fuel sold within the state; it does not change with the fluctuating prices of the fuel itself. The task force's report estimates that the proposed increase would generate an additional $430 million annually to go toward transportation projects in the state.

But not everyone agrees the state would see a benefit from an increase in the tax. Bryan Hoffman, who works exclusively in Missouri as a union carpenter but lives north of Frontenac, Kansas, said he currently buys gasoline only on the Missouri side of the state line because it often costs less. According to the American Petroleum Institute, Missouri has the fifth-lowest overall gas tax in the nation, at 17.3 cents per gallon. The same organization says Kansas' tax is 24 cents per gallon, meaning the 10-cent increase would likely make fuel more expensive in Missouri than Kansas.

Read more: http://www.joplinglobe.com/news/local_news/state-task-force-recommends-raising-missouri-s-gas-tax/article_7a4adf68-d11f-5d61-84db-63e314e4e061.html