D.C. Councilman Proposes 10-cent Gas Tax Hike to Fund Metro

04/21/10 12:26 pm
Markham Evans

WASHINGTON - A proposal to raise the District's gas tax to help fund Metro is meeting with almost universal opposition from those who would pay it.

Carnie Carr commutes from West Virginia to D.C. every week. With gas prices approaching $3 a gallon, he wants taxes lowered, not raised.

"If you have like a pickup you spend about a hundred, one fifty, two hundred dollars for one trip," Carr said.

Ward 1 D.C. Council member Jim Graham introduced a bill Tuesday that would raise the city's gas tax by 10 cents. The money would be used to help pay for Metro's operating budget, which is facing a $189 million budget gap for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

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Metro recently won a $1.5 billion pledge from Congress and local jurisdictions, but it will only lasts for 10 years, and is to be used for capital projects.

Limo driver Dewitt Keith says the timing doesn't add up.

"I think it needs to go back the other way, most definitely," Keith said. "If we get a downgrade, it's going to make a difference in the recession. It would help many people."

Graham argues it's time to create a dedicated revenue source for Metro, the only major metropolitan transit system that lacks a stable funding stream. Metro is funding by contributions from jurisdictions, the federal government and revenues.

Graham's proposal would require the areas served by Metro in Maryland and Virginia to also raise their gas tax by 10 cents a gallon, before the D.C. tax hike would take effect. That would prevent people from shifting their buying habits, as with a recent tobacco tax hike.

Maryland resident Dwayne Burton says he shouldn't be the one footing the bill for Metro.

"They could probably find another way to cut that, besides raising the gas taxes," Burton said. "Taxes are too high now, as it is. Period."

Under the plan, D.C.'s gasoline tax would increase from 23.5 cents per gallon to 33.5 centers per gallon -- a move that would bring the District to ninth place among the highest gas taxes nationwide. Right now, Maryland is on par with D.C. at 23.5 cent per gallon. In Virginia, it's a little lower at 17.5 cents.

Virginia lawmakers predict any tax hike in the Commonwealth is a long shot. The District likely would need congressional input to change the payout structure of its gas tax fund.

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