Patrick McSweeney


 

Discord in the Axis of Taxes

Tim Kaine has split with the state Senate over increasing the gas tax. That gives the House of Delegates a chance to seize the initiative in the taxes-and-transportation debate.


 

The steep climb in the price of gasoline, which seems to be President George W. Bush’s latest curse, may be a blessing to Virginians eager to see an end to the stalemate between the Virginia House of Delegates and the State Senate over a budget for 2006-2008.

 

The public reaction to the recent price increase is much more pronounced than it was a year ago when gasoline was selling for more than $3 a gallon. This recurring problem has become a major political burden for the President and other public officials who have become targets for those casting about for someone to blame.

 

The criticism may be unfair and misdirected. After all, the economic factors pushing gasoline prices upward are beyond the effective control of government. Pointing blame at politicians is comparable to the boy who falls off his bicycle and then kicks it, as if the fall were the bicycle's fault.

 

We are constantly reminded that life isn’t fair. But whining about that fact isn’t constructive, especially for politicians.

 

Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine was undoubtedly acting to head off any voter criticism of him for the high price of gasoline when he announced just a few days ago that he opposed any increase in the state gasoline tax to pay for transportation projects. A number of state senators who support a tax increase were dismayed by Kaine’s announcement. They see it undermining their position in the budget standoff with the House of Delegates that has continued for almost two months.

 

Some in the news media described Kaine’s statement as a crack in the coalition supporting a tax increase for transportation as the price of getting the coalition’s agreement to enact a state budget. It certainly negated Kaine’s principal argument that all factions, except the House Republican Caucus, were in agreement on raising transportation taxes.

 

The House can capitalize on this break in the pro-tax ranks by driving home the point that a statewide financing program for transportation no longer serves us well. Any mix of new or increased taxes for transportation projects that Kaine can support would be subject to the same criticism. These taxes will be allocated to a statewide slush fund. Decisions about which projects to fund will be heavily influenced by political factors.

 

This political slush fund approach has led to decisions to commit hundreds of millions of dollars for projects such as the Coalfields Expressway instead of, for example, a new Route 460 from Southside Hampton Roads to Richmond. The Senate’s statewide funding scheme perpetuates the diversions of tax revenues collected in Northern Virginia to other parts of Virginia where the need for transportation improvements is far less compelling.

 

It’s long past time that our elected officials reconsidered the decades-old approach to funding transportation projects. To make our transportation system more efficient and more responsive to changing needs, funding for new facilities should be based on the actual need for each project and the traveling public’s willingness to pay for the project. The best way to assure that outcome is to get away from the taxpayer-funding model.

 

The project-financing approach accomplishes a number of desirable objectives. It encourages private risk-taking, avoids constant competition with other programs for tax funding, provides greater equity by putting the burden on those who use the facility, and assures that funding is not diverted to other programs or regions.

 

House Republicans have generally supported a move in this direction. It’s time for them to turn up the heat.

 

– May 1, 2006

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Contact Information

 

McSweeney & Crump

11 South Twelfth Street
Richmond, VA 23219
(804) 783-6802

pmcsweeney[at]

   mcbump.com

 

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