USA Today does some interesting analysis of the 18.4 cent federal gas tax and comes to some startling conclusions about how historically low it is when considered with vehicle miles driven and per capita income.
Despite support from notable users groups including the American Trucking Associations and AAA for improving road conditions, political support for raising the gas tax appears to also be at an all-time low.
Drivers pay "the lowest gasoline taxes since the early days of the automobile. They pay less than ever at the pump for upkeep of the nation's roads - just $19 in gas taxes for every 1,000 miles driven, a USA TODAY analysis finds. That's a new low in inflation-adjusted dollars, half what drivers paid in 1975."
"Another measure of the trend: Americans spent just 46 cents on gas taxes for every $100 of income in the first quarter of 2010. That's the lowest rate since the government began keeping track in 1929. By comparison, Americans spent $1.18 in 1970 on gas taxes out of every $100 earned."
Accompanying the article is a graph of a downward sloping line showing combined federal, state, and local gas taxes paid per 1000 miles driven.
From Matthew Yglesias: The Decline of the Gas Tax: The USA Today findings "largely reflect growing fuel efficiency, which is a good thing, but also indicates that we ought to raise gasoline taxes".
Thanks to Streetsblog
FULL STORY: Gas taxes give us a break at the pump
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