Friday, February 15, 2008

Hanger votes for gas tax increase

You may be paying more state taxes at the gas pump in the future. According to the Roanoke Times:
The Virginia Senate voted 25-15 just before noon today to approve legislation that would increase the state gas tax by 5 cents over the next five years.
...
The bill would raise the tax by a penny each year. Saslaw said it's expected to bring $52 million in new revenue its first year.

Many Republicans opposed the bill as an unnecessary gas tax, but several members of the party voted for it. Sen. Emmett Hanger, R-Augusta County, suggested that the volatility of retail gas prices will render it unnoticeable.
Three Republicans voted for it: Senators Emmett Hanger (R-24), Fred Quayle (R-13), and John Watkins (R-10).

Freshman Senator Jill Vogel had this in her newsletter today:
The Senate also debated the bill introduced by Senator Dick Saslaw that would raise the gas tax one cent a year for five consecutive years. The tax increase amounts to more than a billion dollars over five years and the bill passed by a vote of 25 to 15. I voted against it and remain committed not to grow government this session, given the current state of the Governor's economic plan and the current environment for tax payers in Virginia.
Thank you, Senator Vogel.

8 comments:

jalbertbowdenii said...

Do you have any video of his campaign - where he was a tax-cutting Conservative?

Anonymous said...

Well, Raaaaaaiiiissssseeeeee MY TAXES!

Anonymous said...

I hope you hit a pothole and break a tie rod.

Unknown said...

Maybe he didn't read my letter in the Newsleader or my post???
http://yankeephilip.blogspot.com/2008/01/if-you-dont-read-newsleader-you-missed.html

Anonymous said...

That what you guys get for voting this guy in.... more taxes!!!
The republican party needs a wake up call.

Anonymous said...

The tax raisers should be shown the door. This will definitely hit the working families of Virginia. What happened to the reported budget surplus?

Anonymous said...

Yeah, taxes are a plot against the working families of Virginia...and we don't have any money for roads because of all the "waste."

Next time you "no tax" people want to get a pothole fixed in your neighborhood, I hope the gov'ment folks tell you to just get yourself on down to Lowe's...

WartHog said...

You are penny-wise and pound-foolish in your opposition to gas tax increases. By doing nothing (i.e. maintaining the status quo) you can expect more congestion and more poorly-maintained streets. This will cost you much more than this gas tax increase.

I suggest you read some of the research reports on www.tripnet.org before you blindly complain about this particular tax increase proposal. Certainly motorists in Minneapolis would have gladly paid more at the pump to replace the I-35W bridge BEFORE it collapsed.