Politics: Proposed gas tax for Alabama
- Thread starter twofbyc
- Start date
Oh yeah. Our assessment kept going up even after the housing bubble burst. In AL, assessments and sales tax are the the only major taxes that can be raised w/o a state referendum. So when the state voted down Riley tax reform package (which was a fairly solid package, all in all), they had to raise sales tax and assessments. That's why sales tax in Bham totals 10%.
I live in Decatur. The interstate between Huntsville and Decatur clogs down to stop and go driving every morning. Priceville, a bedroom community that uses this same stretch of interstate for their people to get to work in Madison has announced major housing growth, in response to the new auto plant that will open in Madison. The interstate can't handle the traffic it has now, and it will get much worse in the very near future.
The State tried to tag Decatur with a toll bridge a few years ago. To add insult to injury, the plan called for the toll to extend to anyone using the interstate 565 north of the bridge, which is the main highway between Decatur and Huntsville. The people got upset and they tabled the issue. I fully expect Decatur will eventually be exploited with a privately owned toll bridge.
At this point, I think we need to bump up property taxes as well as adding a gas tax to keep things manageable.
The State tried to tag Decatur with a toll bridge a few years ago. To add insult to injury, the plan called for the toll to extend to anyone using the interstate 565 north of the bridge, which is the main highway between Decatur and Huntsville. The people got upset and they tabled the issue. I fully expect Decatur will eventually be exploited with a privately owned toll bridge.
At this point, I think we need to bump up property taxes as well as adding a gas tax to keep things manageable.
I guess I'm in the minority here. I actually don't have a problem with the gas tax. We absolutely have to spend a lot of money to fix the roads.
Yeah, I'd like for it to be more efficient. Yeah, I'd like for it to be more predictable. But if we hold this up until that bunch of yahoos in Montgomery gets it really right, we'll be dead and gone, and our children will be driving on dirt.
It would be making a perfect solution, that is realistically a pipe dream, be the enemy of one that's better than what we have right now, and is actually achievable in the near term.
I also don't see it as a progressive / regressive issue. I see it as a use issue. You drive more, you cause more wear and tear on the roads, you burn more fuel, and you pay more tax. Drive less, cause less wear and tear, burn less fuel, pay less tax.
Your tax load is directly proportional to the load you put on the road system. Seems fair to me, acknowledging that 18 wheelers should pay more because of the stress their weight puts on the road.
Yeah, I'd like for it to be more efficient. Yeah, I'd like for it to be more predictable. But if we hold this up until that bunch of yahoos in Montgomery gets it really right, we'll be dead and gone, and our children will be driving on dirt.
It would be making a perfect solution, that is realistically a pipe dream, be the enemy of one that's better than what we have right now, and is actually achievable in the near term.
I also don't see it as a progressive / regressive issue. I see it as a use issue. You drive more, you cause more wear and tear on the roads, you burn more fuel, and you pay more tax. Drive less, cause less wear and tear, burn less fuel, pay less tax.
Your tax load is directly proportional to the load you put on the road system. Seems fair to me, acknowledging that 18 wheelers should pay more because of the stress their weight puts on the road.
Last I heard, all of that tax money wasn’t going to highway infrastructure...or that the cons in monkey town were using the current gas tax for other things.
Either way, I could name three ways to get the same revenue without the tax.
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One year, they doubled my assessment and, when I questioned it, I was told I had a 3-acre corner lot, because I had access to two streets and that fit their definition of a corner lot. Well, Cherokee Dr. does dead end into my property and that's my address. The problem is that a dead end is not legal frontage, unless I dedicate my circle drive to the city. My "legal" frontage is indeed on Shelby Ave. I have a 40' wide strip running out 350' to that street, to make the house legal at the time. (Actually, it wasn't even legal back then - it measures 39.9'.) So on my "corner" sit four other houses. I made an appt and went down and pointed out these facts and my assessment went back to normal. Good try on their part, though. A lot of people would have just paid it...
Not a challenge here at all...I'm genuinely curious and hope you see a better way.
How would you go about raising the money to fix roads without raising the tax?
The Louisiana lottery tax proceeds in 2018 were right at 172 million, and the state population is slightly lower than ours.
Colorado has about a million more people than we do, but they received over 266 million in tax revenue from weed sales in 2018.
Neither of these is a “mandatory” tax; a fuel tax, realistically, is, since Alabama has no mass transit system to speak of.
Personally, I think casinos should be allowed in every county with a minimum population (50-100 thousand). Interstate 10 from Ocean Springs to almost the Louisiana line was widened and upgraded with casino money.
It’s all about priorities, and some people being unwilling to put aside prejudices and biases that are routinely being shown as reasons for Alabama being ranked 46th. Granted, Mississippi and Louisiana are ranked behind us, but I only used those states as comparisons because of similar population size. One of the biggest reasons we’re all ranked so low is healthcare - three Republican strongholds.
There are other ways to generate tax revenue, but it’s easier for Republicans to tax those who can least afford it; they think most of those folks are Democrats, but they’re wrong - there are some very ignorant Republican voters in that group, a lot more than they realize.
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Where are you getting your stats? There are many areas where we are not ranked 46th any more...
The gas tax is expected to bring in $300 million, and that’s not even what the studies done by UA and AU say it should be ($600-800 million).
Plus, a lottery will take at least a year to implement, which means a second year to reap any benefits.
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A weed tax along with lottery and casinos are very effective ways to get lower income people to pay taxes.
Of course, if that money is going elsewhere already, it makes sense to for the state to get it instead.
I've seen examples of how the fuel taxes are tougher on lower income but it also depends. One thing for sure is that items transported by trucks will cost more. On the other hand, I imagine that higher income people spend more on gas for commuting to work and for leisure activities.
Of course, if that money is going elsewhere already, it makes sense to for the state to get it instead.
I've seen examples of how the fuel taxes are tougher on lower income but it also depends. One thing for sure is that items transported by trucks will cost more. On the other hand, I imagine that higher income people spend more on gas for commuting to work and for leisure activities.
It’s an overall ranking.
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/rankings
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https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/rankings
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That’s 300 million when it reaches ten cents, which will be in three years.
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Yet Saban still turned down a chance to move to #1.
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IOW, make money for two years before fully implemented. That wouldn’t happen with a lottery, which would be hard not to go toward education anyway.
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With the elected morons in monkey town, with our constitution, our tax structure, and the overall state of healthcare and education in the state, I’d rate it 100.
Prime example on our government: Birmingham, by simply collecting signatures, can get laws placed on their ballots for the voters. As far as I know, it’s the only city in the state that has the right of referendum - I know Mobile doesn’t (I checked).
Why should only one city in the state have that right? No one can come up with a good reason, other than “that’s just the way it is.”
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