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Allred: Give Idaho families a break
August 02, 2010
Contact: Shea Andersen
208.720.9904m
shea@allredforidaho.com
Today Keith Allred, candidate for Idaho governor, said Idaho families and small businesses need a break. So Allred has proposed that Idaho reduce its per-gallon gas tax by 3 cents per gallon.
Idaho’s 25-cent gas tax is higher than the national average. Allred’s proposal would bring Idaho in line with other states, and give a much-needed boost to Idaho families and small businesses who are struggling to climb out of a tough economy.
“Times are tough and Idaho families need a break,” Allred said today.
The proposal stems from a study made public last week that showed, as others have before it, that Idaho car and pickup drivers are overpaying for their share of wear and tear on Idaho highways. By contrast, Idaho’s heavy trucking industry is underpaying its share of wear and tear.
Allred’s proposal is in stark contrast to one proposed by Butch Otter, who in 2009 tried to force a 10 cent per gallon tax hike onto Idaho families. Keith Allred led the fight against that tax hike as well as the registration fee hike that Otter pushed. Otter’s proposal would have raised registration fees on heavy trucks by a mere 5 percent.
“That’s just not fair so I worked to defeat Otter’s tax hikes,” Allred said. “Otter’s tax hikes would make the problem much worse.”
Allred’s proposal will save Idaho car and pickup drivers $19 million. To make sure that Idaho’s roads are fairly paid for, Allred is asking heavy trucking companies to contribute their fair share to Idaho’s road maintenance backlog.
“Idaho families can’t afford to subsidize the heavy trucking industry in times like these,” Allred said. “We need a governor who works for Idaho families, not his political contributors. My gas tax cut is an important step in providing relief and fairness for Idaho families.”
Details of Allred 3 Cent Gas Tax Cut
| Reduction of Gas Tax | $19.2 million |
| Percentage Cut in Gas Tax | 12% |
| Current Underpayment by Heavy Trucks of Wear and Tear | $139.5 million |
| Underpayment by Heavy Trucks of Wear and Tear After Change | $120.3 million |
| Percentage Reduction in Heavy Truck Underpayment of Wear & Tear | 14% |
Evidence that heavy trucks are underpaying their responsibility
After Allred pushed for it in 2009, the Gubernatorial Task Force and ITD commissioned a study entitled 2010 Idaho Highway Cost Allocation Study to determine whether or not heavy trucks are paying their share of wear and tear on our roads. This study, released July 2010, indicates that cars are paying 47% more than their share of the wear and tear on the roads, while heavy trucks are paying 33% less than their fair share (p. v). The State and Federal, Full GARVEE calculations are used for this proposal because these are the calculations judged by the study’s authors to be the most appropriate for analysis of policies under consideration by the Gubernatorial Task Force (See p. 6.2).
Evidence that trucks pay less in Idaho than in the surrounding states
ITD commissioned a 2007 study entitled Study of Commercial Vehicle Registration Fees and Procedures that found that heavy trucks pay less in Idaho than in surrounding states. A link to the study is on The Common Interest website: www.thecommoninterest.org/docs/Trans/ITD Commercial Vehicle Study 2007.pdf
Other Studies confirming that heavy trucks underpay their responsibility
Light trucks would not pay more
The Allred gas tax cut would not require that the lighter, single unit trucks that most small businesses and farmers use pay more. All four studies in the last six years find that it is the heavy, combination, semi-trucks (weighing more than 60,000 lbs) that are paying significantly less than their wear and tear on the roads.
Evidence that road maintenance is not an urgent priority
According to ITD statistics, Idaho roads are in better condition now than the average of the last 15 years. According to the best available Federal Highway Administration data, Idaho’s road conditions are about equal to the average in the surrounding states and better than the national average. See The Common Interest’s transportation funding brief for links to the evidence: www.thecommoninterest.org/v2/issue-17.aspx
Keith Allred
governor
taxes
Idaho
