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<p class=MsoNormal>With Otter in favor of increasing Idaho’s gas tax and
Allred in favor of decreasing Idaho’s gas tax, this should be a slam dunk
decision on election day for Idaho’s anti-tax constituency. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Courtesy of today’s (September 5, 2010) Spokesman-Review.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>----------------------------------------------------------------------------<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Gas tax debate rekindled in Idaho<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Governor’s race drives it to spotlight<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>There’s good reason Washington license plates are such
a common sight at Idaho gas stations near the state line – gas is just
plain cheaper in Idaho.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Among the reasons: Washington’s 37.5-cent-per-gallon
gas tax is 12.5 cents higher than Idaho’s, which has stood at 25 cents a
gallon since 1996.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Idaho Gov. Butch Otter has spent several years unsuccessfully
trying to persuade state lawmakers to raise Idaho’s gas tax to boost
funding for road maintenance in the state. Now, as he seeks a second term in
office, his Democratic challenger, Keith Allred, is proposing the opposite: He
wants to lower the tax to 22 cents per gallon, and increase fees on heavy
trucks to make up the difference. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>The debate in Idaho comes as the state’s
long-unchanged gas tax, combined with increased fuel efficiency, has led to
stagnant funding for roads despite growing traffic. But the tax isn’t the
only factor in differing gas prices. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>“There is a price differential – it’s
usually 5 or 8 cents,” said Dave Carlson of AAA of Idaho. Coeur
d’Alene generally has slightly lower gas prices than the state as a
whole; when AAA tracked gas prices headed into the Labor Day weekend,
Idaho’s average price was 7 cents a gallon lower than Washington’s
average. But, Carlson said, “This summer Washington’s generally had
about the third-highest prices in the country.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Gas prices can vary based on market and business reasons as
well, even from station to station in the same area.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Suzanne Budge, lobbyist for the Idaho Petroleum Marketers
Association, said Idaho’s gas prices historically have been above the
national average. “We are a very isolated marketplace and we don’t
have any of our own sources of fuel, so it’s all being transported
in,” she noted. Plus, she said, “We also have supply and demand
issues this time of year.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Washington approved a phased 3.5-cent gas tax increase in
2005. Oregon just upped its fuel tax by 6 cents a gallon to 30 cents, a move
approved a year ago but just now taking effect, and Alaska just ended a
temporary, two-year suspension of its 8-cent-per-gallon gas tax. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Reductions in gas tax rates have been rare; Florida had a
one-month decrease in its gas tax of 8 cents a gallon in August 2004, according
to Mandy Rafool, an analyst with the National Conference of State Legislatures.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>“In the past year, nobody’s raising
taxes,” Rafool said. “It’s an election year, and there’s
been very little activity.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>After Idaho lawmakers refused two years running to approve
Otter’s proposed transportation funding legislation, which included both
gas tax hikes and big increases in vehicle registration fees, Otter last year
appointed a task force to look into the long-term issues and report back to him
in December, after this year’s election. So far, the task force has
indicated that it views a gas tax increase as the best and fairest way to raise
more money for Idaho’s roads.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>However, the task force also received a new
state-commissioned study showing that Idaho drivers of cars and light pickups
pay far more than their share for upkeep of roads in the state, while drivers
of heavy trucks underpay. That’s part of what spurred Allred’s proposal.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>“Idaho families can’t afford to subsidize the
heavy trucking industry in times like these,” Allred said. “My gas
tax cut is an important step in providing relief and fairness for Idaho
families.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Otter dubbed Allred’s proposal unrealistic.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>The average state gas tax nationwide is 20.9 cents per
gallon, but it’s 26.4 cents if local taxes also are counted in, according
to a comparison conducted by the Washington Department of Transportation.
Neither Idaho nor Washington has local gas taxes, but 13 states do. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>There also are 10 states that apply some or all of their
sales tax to gas, in addition to their gas tax. That idea has been tossed
around in Idaho, in part because collections from a percentage sales tax would
rise with inflation and the cost of gas, unlike the flat 25-cent-per-gallon
tax. Budge said Idaho petroleum marketers oppose such a move because it makes
the tax more complicated and difficult to collect and remit. “The system
that’s in place is very workable for the industry,” she said.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Carlson, of AAA, said his group testified in favor of
Otter’s proposal for a 10-cent gas tax increase to boost road funding.
But AAA also is concerned about equity between truckers and motorists, he said.
“While we are basically supportive of the notion of getting everyone in
the state to pay more because of the huge underinvestment, we’d probably
want to see how those numbers play out proportionally,” he said.
“Equity has got to be one of the bigger considerations before moving forward.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>----------------------------------------------------------------------------<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Seeya at the polls, Moscow.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Tom Hansen<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Moscow, Idaho<o:p></o:p></p>
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