Mass. Gov. Deval Patrick considering 27 cents per gallon increase in gas tax
by The Republican Newsroom Monday February 09, 2009, 4:20 PM
File photo by Elise Amendola / Associated PressMass. Gov. Deval L. Patrick, seen here last month at a meeting of the Massachusetts Municipal Association, is considering a 27-cents-per-gallon increase in the state's gasoline tax.
This is a 5:24 p.m. update of a story originally posted at 4:20 this afternoon.
By GLEN JOHNSON
Associated Press
BOSTON - Mass. Gov. Deval L. Patrick is considering raising the gasoline tax in Massachusetts by 27 cents per gallon as part of a comprehensive transportation overhaul plan, The Associated Press learned Monday.
The proposal would stave off a doubling of Massachusetts Turnpike tolls planned for this summer, but would leave the state with the highest gasoline tax in the nation at 50.5 cents.
A policy draft obtained Monday by the AP said the added tax would be dedicated to paying down the debt of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, funding regional transit authorities and removing some tolls on the Massachusetts Turnpike.
Tolls would be removed west of Route 128 by the end of next year. Tolls within Route 128, from Weston to Boston, would come down as the state shifts to a program of tracking - and charging - all drivers based on the miles they travel.
Trips would be measured by a chip installed in a vehicle inspection sticker as soon as 2014, and drivers would receive a gas-tax refund to avoid double payments. New York currently has the nation's highest state gas tax, at 41.3 cents per gallon.
by The Republican Newsroom Monday February 09, 2009, 4:20 PM
This is a 5:24 p.m. update of a story originally posted at 4:20 this afternoon.
By GLEN JOHNSON
Associated Press
BOSTON - Mass. Gov. Deval L. Patrick is considering raising the gasoline tax in Massachusetts by 27 cents per gallon as part of a comprehensive transportation overhaul plan, The Associated Press learned Monday.
The proposal would stave off a doubling of Massachusetts Turnpike tolls planned for this summer, but would leave the state with the highest gasoline tax in the nation at 50.5 cents.
A policy draft obtained Monday by the AP said the added tax would be dedicated to paying down the debt of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, funding regional transit authorities and removing some tolls on the Massachusetts Turnpike.
Tolls would be removed west of Route 128 by the end of next year. Tolls within Route 128, from Weston to Boston, would come down as the state shifts to a program of tracking - and charging - all drivers based on the miles they travel.
Trips would be measured by a chip installed in a vehicle inspection sticker as soon as 2014, and drivers would receive a gas-tax refund to avoid double payments. New York currently has the nation's highest state gas tax, at 41.3 cents per gallon.
