Bill Proposes Gas Tax Cut to Save 21 Cents a Gallon
By Russell Nichols, The Boston Globe
May 11–Motorists in Massachusetts would save 21 cents a gallon for gasoline this summer under a bill filed yesterday by House minority leader Bradley H. Jones Jr. that would eliminate the state gas tax for three months.
The current price of gas in the state is $2.91, 30 cents more than it was last month and 72 cents more than drivers paid this time last year. With the summer travel season approaching, the bill, backed by Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey and legislators from both parties, would be in effect from Memorial Day through Labor Day, giving relief to businesses who need tourism dollars to thrive and to working families who want to travel, Jones said.
“We know that working families and small businesses are struggling to meet the higher costs of energy and gas right now,” Healey said at a press conference yesterday. “This is a thing that we can do to get some of the surplus monies… back to the people of Massachusetts.”
Chances of the bill’s passage appeared slim yesterday, given the criticism from a key Democratic lawmaker and other observers. The critics said the tax cut would endanger spending on other state initiatives, such as education and healthcare. The supporters estimate the cut would cost the state $187 million in revenue. They propose using up to $200 million of the state’s $1.7 billion budget reserves to make up for the loss.
“We’re treating a symptom here and not the disease,” said Democratic Representative Joseph F. Wagner, House chairman of the Joint Committee on Transportation. “No matter how you slice it, you’re taking up to $200 million out of the state’s revenue stream.”
Opponents point out that the gas tax is supposed to fund state accounts that pay for needs such as construction and repair of roads and bridges.
“It’s not there to be treated as a whimsical item to be suspended based on temporary events,” said Arthur Kinsman, spokesman for AAA Southern New England, based in Rockland. “There’s far more highway work and road work to be done than we can pay for, and even a temporary suspension of the tax, while it would be a short-term reward, would cause some long-term pain, in terms of deteriorating roadways and bridges.”
Healey, the GOP nominee for governor, used the press conference to underscore her support for tax cuts. She also backs a cut in the state income tax rate.
But on the gas tax cut, one Republican is reluctant: Governor Mitt Romney has said that a state gas tax break could encourage more consumption.
Yesterday, Healey said she was speaking for herself and that Romney knew her position.
The bill’s sponsors see it as a form of relief to residents recovering from high heating bills this winter, and they also hope it will sustain tourism businesses in popular vacation spots like the Berkshires and Cape Cod.
“A lot of people here make their living from tourism,” said Wendy Northcross, chief executive officer of the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce, which represents 1,350 businesses and supports a waiver on the gas tax. “It’s their mainstay here. They get anxious if there’s something that can cut into consumer confidence.”
Jones filed a similar gas tax bill last fall after Hurricane Katrina, and it did not pass. Yesterday, he said, “This proposal recognizes the people who don’t have the immediate needs to go out and buy a hybrid vehicle overnight. When people feel like they’re not paying something to the government, they feel a lot better.”
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