Our roads and highways are our major means of transporting goods, providing service, and keeping our fleets moving and our business operating. Our highways need to be maintained and safe for drivers. The funds, which pay for roads, bridges, and transportation projects, come from the Federal Transportation Trust Fund.
Many lawmakers say that the trust fund has fallen short producing sufficient long-term revenue.
Currently lawmakers are debating proposing a 15cent per gallon increase in the federal gasoline tax to replenish the Transportation Trust Fund.
Currently, the federal fuel tax is 18.4 cents a gallon for gasoline and 24.4 cents for diesel. The last gasoline tax increase was in 1993. This proposal calls for the increase to begin in 2013. Gas fuel taxes would rise by one cent every three months beginning January 2013, until the 15-cent increase has been reached.
As a fleet fuel manager, relying on our transportation infrastructure, this fuel tax increase is unwelcome news. Some reports indicate that this fuel tax increase would not go very far in congress given the highly conservative nature of new congress.