Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Streetsblog.net

New Jersey May Finally Do the Responsible Thing and Raise the Gas Tax

Adjusted for inflation, New Jersey transit fares have been rising while the gas tax has been declining. Graph: Tri-=State Transportation Campaign
Adjusted for inflation, New Jersey transit fares have been rising while the gas tax has been declining. Chart: Tri-State Transportation Campaign [PDF]
false

For a long time now, New Jersey politicians -- first and foremost Governor Chris Christie -- have been playing a high stakes game of chicken with transportation funds, doing practically anything to avoid raising the gas tax. Only one other state in the nation has a lower fuel tax than New Jersey. Thanks to inflation, drivers pay less and less for the roads, but transit riders are paying as much as they ever have following a fare hike last year.

Necessity may finally prompt a change of course. The state's Transportation Trust Fund is set to run dry in about three weeks. Joseph Cutrufo at the Tri-State Transportation Campaign's Mobilizing the Region blog reports that there's some momentum in the state legislature to finally raise the gas tax:

The New Jersey Senate, led by Senators Paul Sarlo and Steve Oroho, announced bipartisan agreement on a $20 billion, 10-year plan with some more details.

The Sarlo-Oroho plan calls for a 7% Petroleum Products Gross Receipts Tax, a 10-cent-per-gallon PPGRT tax on motor fuel, and a 3-cent-per-gallon PPGRT diesel surcharge, all imposed at the wholesale level. If oil companies passed the full cost of the PPGRT tax on to motorists, the gas tax increase would be 23 cents a gallon. Added to New Jersey’s current 14.5-cent tax on motor fuels, New Jersey’s 37.5-cent per gallon would still be lower than both New York’s 42.4-cent motor fuel tax and Pennsylvania’s 50-cent tax.

The Senate proposal also includes a pilot vehicle miles traveled (VMT) tax, not unlike Oregon’s OReGO program, on electric, hydrogen-powered and “other non-gas powered vehicles,” which would go into effect one year after passage. Revenue from the VMT tax would be dedicated to emission-reducing projects included in the TTF, such as transit and other “congestion reduction initiatives” (here’s hoping highway widening projects aren’t included under that category).

So what about Governor Christie’s requirement that “tax fairness” be a part of the equation? The Senate’s plan includes phasing out the estate tax by the end of 2019, increasing exemptions for retirement income, and establishing an income tax deduction for drivers whose gas taxes paid exceeds 1 percent of their income.

Elsewhere on the Network today: Plan Charlotte reviews the fight over efforts to limit sprawl south of Charlotte. And The Urbanist offers some suggestions about how Seattle should measure its Vision Zero progress.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Wednesday’s Headlines Got the Worried Blues

Transit agencies listen to that whistle blow. They're going where they never gone before.

July 17, 2024

Study: More Evidence That Safer Streets Help Loca Business

...and more insight into why that belief is so hard to quash.

July 17, 2024

Tuesday’s Headlines Turn Up the Heat

Triple-digit heat, fueled by climate change, is warping rail lines, interrupting construction work on transit lines and causing burns on sidewalks.

July 16, 2024

These Are the Most Dangerous Congressional Districts for Pedestrians

The deadliest congressional districts in America are dominated by BIPOC communities — and federal officials need to step up to save the most vulnerable road users.

July 16, 2024

Delivery Worker Minimum Wage Shows Promise … For Some, Data Shows

New data from New York City's Department of Consumer and Worker Protection shows minimum wage is bringing order to a previously wild industry.

July 15, 2024
See all posts