TOLLS ARE A TAX
The solution…RAISE THE GAS TAX, INSTEAD
For decades, the TX Legislature (and the federal government’s RTC – Regional Transportation Council) have cried that they MUST sellout our public roads to foreign owned companies who build toll roads and charge us by the mile into perpetuity to travel across metropolitan areas in Texas. We were told in 2014 that to keep up with transportation needs, Texas would have to raise the gas tax by 20 cents. Texas hasn’t raised the state gas tax since 1991. Transportation is one of the few responsibilities of federal, state, and local governments.
We’re retired. Many days my car stays in the garage. But for those like our adult kids who live within a few miles of a metroplex toll road, and pay tolls every work day, their travel tax is thousands (more than one) of dollars annually.
Do you have any idea what you might save if your gas tax was increased by 20 cents/gallon v. your toll tag?
Just compute this on one vehicle that has a toll tag:
1) Total miles traveled in 2016
2) Avg. mpg. realized in your vehicle
3) Divide #1 by #2
4) Multiply #3 by .20 (20 cents)
5) Subtract #4 from your total Toll Tag charges for 2016 (look that up at NTTA.org)
#5 is what you could have saved if the state gas tax were increased 20 cents/gallon!
This would have been my savings on just ONE of our vehicles:
$731 in 2016 [versus the $846 paid in tolls on DNT & SRT]
$237 in 2015 [versus the $378 paid in tolls on DNT & SRT]
$287 in 2014 [versus $400 paid in tolls on DNT & SRT]
$348 in 2013 [versus $480 paid in tolls on DNT & SRT]
We now have eight (8) toll tags including motorized vehicles and various trailers. Every time we pull a trailer through a toll gantry, we’re DOUBLE TAXED and could be keeping even more of our fixed income!
Today, the Texas House Committee on Transportation passed a bill that will continue to increase your travel tax – HB 2861 and hand 18 TX roads to private foreign toll operators that charge $30-$40/day! Four of these committee members live in the DFW area (Burkett, Goldman, Phillips, Simmons) – the area with the MOST Texas toll roads!
I urge all Texans to subscribe to Terri Hall’s blog and email alerts and support her research and calls to action. http://www.texasturf.org/
So what if electric cars are in our future.
Address today’s problems with today’s solutions.
Raise the state gas tax and allow those Comprehensive Development Agreements (CDAs) or public private partnership toll projects to EXPIRE. STOP EXTENDING these agreements!
Contact your state House Rep and State Senator. Tell them you’re onto to their back room deals with the transportation lobby. STOP THE THEFT. DO NOT PASS HB 2861 if it goes to the House floor!
Every time I bring the gas tax up to a representative I am told the added tax cannot be put in a separate account that would only pay for roads.
I can believe that the statutes were changed to do that. I would also believe that the toll lobby wrote the language for that bill. Any legislator can propose a new bill to change statute. They have done it 6597 just this session [http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/Reports/Report.aspx?ID=legislativestatistics] Of course, it would depend on receiving favor from the Speaker, Lt. Gov, and finally the Governor. If all of them depend on the money from the toll lobby – it will never happen. But, if enough of us voters wise up to how the sausage is made in Austin, things could change.