The Vermont Petroleum Association today released a stack of petitions with over 4,000 signatures of Vermonters opposing the increase in the gasoline tax proposed by the Shumlin administration and revised by the House Transportation Committee. The petitions were collected in nearly all areas of the state.
‘ The depth of concern expressed by Vermonters over the idea of raising the gas tax yet again is deep and compelling,’ said Joe Choquette, who represents the Vermont Petroleum Association. ‘ Although we appreciate the need for transportation revenues, we urge the administration and legislators to look elsewhere for revenues that don’ t hit working Vermonters the way a hike in the gas tax will.’
The association is particularly concerned about the impact of the higher tax on the gasoline and convenience store businesses in towns along the New Hampshire border.
Under the latest plan before the legislature, total state and federal gasoline taxes in Vermont would go from 45.1 cents per gallon today to 51.8 cents per gallon on June 1. The tax would increase automatically with the price and with inflation. Meanwhile, total taxes in neighboring New Hampshire would remain at 38 cents per gallon. Massachusetts’ gas tax totals 41.9 cents.
‘ In 2009 the legislature added a two percent sales tax that has now grown to 6.7 cents a gallon,’ according to Jim Harrison of the Vermont Grocers Association. ‘ We were told then that New Hampshire would raise its tax at the same time. New Hampshire did nothing, and our tax is now more than seven cents a gallon higher at the border.’ Harrison said border businesses already lose money, or lose customers, to New Hampshire and Massachusetts. If the proposed tax goes into effect as planned, the difference will grow to more than 13 cents per gallon.
‘ As the tax difference grows, more and more Vermont businesses are hurt by the difference,’ Choquette said. ‘ Vermonters will drive from farther into Vermont to buy gas in New Hampshire, and they will also buy a lot of their other goods while they’ re there. Vermont economists have repeatedly shown the impact of tax differences at the border.’
Choquette said gasoline sales in Vermont have declined by more than 41 million gallons per year since 2005, and blamed some of that on the growing tax differential. ‘ If the transportation agency thinks raising the tax is going to keep raising more money, the evidence suggests otherwise,’ he said. ‘ The governor and the legislature want to put the tax increases on automatic pilot, so they don’ t have to answer to voters. You might was well just mail in the keys to the stores along the border.’
Harrison said the petition movement has gathered momentum over the last week, with more than 500 petition signatures coming in during the past 24 hours. ‘ So far we’ ve heard directly from more than 4,000 Vermonters that this is the wrong tax with hundreds more being added daily.
Petitions are available here: http://www.vtgrocers.org/files/files/gas.tax.petitions%203.6.13.pdf
Gas tax petition stimulates overwhelming response
Submitted by tim
on