Fuel Tax

In a rare show of unity, the nation's top airline executives converged on Capitol Hill yesterday, lobbying lawmakers to repeal a fuel tax they say will cost the beleaguered industry $527 million a year.The 4.3-cents-a-gallon tax was enacted in 1993 as part of the sweeping deficit reduction package. At that time, however, Congress granted the airline industry a two-year waiver, which is scheduled to expire Oct. 1.Airline officials say the tax comes just as carriers are beginning to recover from the worst financial period in the industry's history.

Gov. Martin O'Malley and his Democratic cohorts have done it again, increased the gas tax. Will the tax be used to improve our highways? Not if the previous use of the fuel tax is repeated. It is noteworthy that not one Republican voted for the tax which will mostly impact working families. O'Malley is making a run for the presidency, and why not? He will fit right in with the Democratic crowd in Washington who advocate: spend and tax, abortion on demand, same sex marriage, gun outlaw, amnesty and tuition breaks for illegal immigrants, Obama-care, extended unemployment pay and increased entitlements for those who chose not to work.

City Councilman Joseph J. DiBlasi, D-6th, has introduced legislation that would tax the purchase by manufacturing companies of natural gas from gas wells. The proposed levy could bring in an estimated $1.07 million in new revenue for the city in fiscal year 1992, which begins July 1.DiBlasi's bill, introduced last night, would amend the city's current fuel tax for manufacturing to place a tax on companies purchasing their natural gas from the well rather than through the Baltimore Gas and Electric Co.The proposed tax would affect 63 companies in the city, said Allen J. Reynolds, chief city auditor.

Once again, Virginia has beaten Maryland to the punch regarding taxes on business and consumers. Virginia eliminated its gas tax completely and replaced it with a 3.5 percent sales tax on the wholesale price of gasoline. Gov. Martin O'Malley's new tax increase proposal would reduce the gas tax rate 5 cents but add a sales tax to the retail price of gasoline and diesel, resulting in a 63 percent increase in the tax on gas and a 90 percent increase in the diesel tax. Only in Maryland would we claim to "reduce" taxes in a way that results in increases - and leaves Maryland retailers at a devastating competitive disadvantage.

The dire warnings of the last few years about inadequate transportation funding in the United States have come true. State and federal transportation trust funds are essentially empty, but transportation infrastructure requires additional funding just to maintain what already exists. Fuel taxes and other user fees flow into trust funds, and payments for transportation projects flow out. Federal officials have tried stop-gap measures for the federal trust fund, such as shifting general funds into it. In Maryland, on the other hand, the trust fund has been a source for transfers to the general fund.

With gas prices so high, consumers are likely to react favorably to just about any plan that might bring them down. But the latest proposal - to create a summer-long "tax holiday" and offered by Sen. John McCain - is such a spectacularly bad idea that it's hard to believe it's getting serious consideration. Temporarily suspending the federal gas tax could not only harm the nation's transportation infrastructure but also further drive up prices, an outcome that would enrich oil companies without offering a dime's worth of discount to drivers.

Gov. Martin O'Malley and his Democratic cohorts have done it again, increased the gas tax. Will the tax be used to improve our highways? Not if the previous use of the fuel tax is repeated. It is noteworthy that not one Republican voted for the tax which will mostly impact working families. O'Malley is making a run for the presidency, and why not? He will fit right in with the Democratic crowd in Washington who advocate: spend and tax, abortion on demand, same sex marriage, gun outlaw, amnesty and tuition breaks for illegal immigrants, Obama-care, extended unemployment pay and increased entitlements for those who chose not to work.

WASHINGTON -- The fiercest debates over the tax bills in Congress may have centered on children, college and capital gains, but for many small interest groups, dozens of less conspicuous provisions buried in the hefty documents are the most crucial to their pocketbooks.Seafood processors in Alaska, precisely north of 53 degrees north latitude, are one group that stands to benefit. So, too, would the weekend yachtsmen and incidental fishermen who tool around in diesel-guzzling pleasure craft.

With the stunning end to Maryland's General Assembly, many have opined of the need to raise the gas tax in the anticipated special session ("Baltimore gets stranded," April 17). Supporters state that the "business community" overwhelmingly favors such an increase. Notably, many in the "business community" that favor the gas tax represent businesses that do not actually own vehicles. As a representative of the trucking industry which delivers the food, clothing, medicine and other goods Marylanders use, I can tell you that such support among businesses is hardly universal.

We couldn't agree more with The Sun's recent editorial caution against changing the revenue stream that feeds the Waterway Improvement Fund without first researching the likely outcome ("Bailing out yachts?" Sept. 4). It is accurate to say that the Marine Trades Association has long advocated increasing the number of boats registering in Maryland. No one benefits more than members of the boating industry and the boating communities from a well-funded and robust Waterway Improvement Fund.

A bill introduced by a staunch backer of last year's casino expansion would strip signficant tax- collection and regulatory duties from the state's elected comptroller and shift them to a cabinet secretary appointed by the governor -- a move interpreted by Comptroller Peter Franchot as retaliation for his outspoken opposition to the gambling plan and other independent stands he has taken. The legislation, introduced by Del. Dereck Davis, would shift the Comptroller's Office's authority to regulate sales of alcohol, tobacco and motor fuel to the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation.

Baltimore and Maryland's counties could impose their own 5-cents-a-gallon tax on gas to pay for local roads and buses under a proposal by Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller. Miller also proposed Thursday leasing a state toll highway to a private operator to raise money for mass-transit projects in Baltimore and the Washington suburbs. His proposal comes as lawmakers in Annapolis are struggling to find ways to raise money for transportation projects they say are long overdue.

Here's a question for you Maryland taxpayers out there: Would you rather pay a higher tax on many items you purchase each day or on something you may buy perhaps once a week (a commodity that's actually decreased in price nearly 20 percent in recent months, by the way)? Surely, most people would choose the latter. But there's another way to look at it: Would you rather see the Maryland sales tax rise after enduring a similar increase a mere five years ago, or see the gas tax rise after a 20-year freeze?

We couldn't agree more with The Sun's recent editorial caution against changing the revenue stream that feeds the Waterway Improvement Fund without first researching the likely outcome ("Bailing out yachts?" Sept. 4). It is accurate to say that the Marine Trades Association has long advocated increasing the number of boats registering in Maryland. No one benefits more than members of the boating industry and the boating communities from a well-funded and robust Waterway Improvement Fund.

With the stunning end to Maryland's General Assembly, many have opined of the need to raise the gas tax in the anticipated special session ("Baltimore gets stranded," April 17). Supporters state that the "business community" overwhelmingly favors such an increase. Notably, many in the "business community" that favor the gas tax represent businesses that do not actually own vehicles. As a representative of the trucking industry which delivers the food, clothing, medicine and other goods Marylanders use, I can tell you that such support among businesses is hardly universal.

Gov. Martin O'Malley will propose an extension of Maryland's 6 percent sales tax to gasoline to raise money for the state's depleted Transportation Trust Fund, a measure that would add roughly 18 cents to the price per gallon over three years, the administration says. By choosing the sales tax as a vehicle for raising transportation money, the governor is rejecting an increase in the traditional motor fuel tax, which calculates the tax on a per-gallon basis. Maryland's gas tax has remained level at 23.5 cents a gallon since 1992.

Gov. Martin O'Malley will propose an extension of Maryland's 6 percent sales tax to gasoline to raise money for the state's depleted Transportation Trust Fund, a measure that would add roughly 18 cents to the price per gallon over three years, the administration says. By choosing the sales tax as a vehicle for raising transportation money, the governor is rejecting an increase in the traditional motor fuel tax, which calculates the tax on a per-gallon basis. Maryland's gas tax has remained level at 23.5 cents a gallon since 1992.

With Libya in turmoil and the volatile oil market threatening a return of $4-a-gallon gasoline prices this summer, Maryland consumers are probably not anxious to hear any plan that might raise them further. And yet — as counterintuitive as it may sound — that's exactly what is required. As much hardship as the price spike in gasoline is already causing (average prices are already about 70 cents per gallon above last year's), the cost to consumers is only going to be greater if Maryland fails to invest in its roads and transit alternatives.

With Libya in turmoil and the volatile oil market threatening a return of $4-a-gallon gasoline prices this summer, Maryland consumers are probably not anxious to hear any plan that might raise them further. And yet — as counterintuitive as it may sound — that's exactly what is required. As much hardship as the price spike in gasoline is already causing (average prices are already about 70 cents per gallon above last year's), the cost to consumers is only going to be greater if Maryland fails to invest in its roads and transit alternatives.

The dire warnings of the last few years about inadequate transportation funding in the United States have come true. State and federal transportation trust funds are essentially empty, but transportation infrastructure requires additional funding just to maintain what already exists. Fuel taxes and other user fees flow into trust funds, and payments for transportation projects flow out. Federal officials have tried stop-gap measures for the federal trust fund, such as shifting general funds into it. In Maryland, on the other hand, the trust fund has been a source for transfers to the general fund.