Dear Crabby, Tell Me About the New Gas Tax

Dear Crabby, What’s this New Gasoline Tax in Michigan all about?

Sincerely, Mr. Fuming

 

Well, well, well … here we go again. Both with the price of gas going up and with the question. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I am not a fan of worrying about the price of gasoline. I will tell you the price goes up and down – in cycles – just as many times as a politician flip-flops his or her position on an issue. War, summer travel months, holiday weekends – it goes up. But this time, our good friends in Lansing have slapped us in the tailgate with a new 7.3 cents per gallon tax increase. Now, instead of having the 18th-highest gas tax in the country, we’ll have the sixth-highest in our great nation.

The increase went into effect on January 1 – Happy New Year – and is part of the 2015 road repair package Gov. Snyder signed into law in 2015. This puts the total tax at 26.3 cents per gallon of gas or diesel. Oh, and you still have the 6% sales tax on top of that! And, I’m not done, there is an 18.4 cents per gallon of federal tax too. Look out tail pipe, here it comes!

Your vehicle registration is going up too, 20% for most cars and trucks. If you think we’ll have better roads in no time, go drink the water in Flint and wait it out. We won’t see roads improving from this money until 2019, but only in small amounts. The full $1.2 billion budget won’t be spent on roads and bridges until 2021.

Whew. Okay. I’m stepping down from my soap box. I’m still not going to worry about the cost of gas – not much I can do about it. Drive less? Sure, I already to that. I also plan to ask my kids and grandkids to run more errands for ol’grandpa and let them absorb the cost. It’s more fun to watch everyone else worry, fret and figure out how to pay for the increase.

So, worry not Mr. Fuming. By the way, what church do you attend … will you pick me and the Mrs. up on Sunday morning, thanks.

 

Sincerely, Dear Crabby

Stuck in a rut? Need some biased advice from a crabby old baby-boomer? Email me at dearcrabby@rochestermedia.com and ask your question. You can also head on over to my Facebook Page and tell me how wonderful I am.

 

About Dear Crabby

Stuck in a rut? Need some biased advice from a crabby old baby-boomer? Read regularly by thousands and loved by some, Dear Crabby answers questions weekly to life's challenges. Send him a note at editor@rochestermedia.com.

Comments

  1. Gas Tax, what is even worse; Every county in the State of MI voted 2-1 or 3-1 AGAINST these increases. In their wisdom, our elected decided to proceed of their own volition. Me thinks that they have lost their way. Time for two things to happen: 1. R-E-C-A-L-L 2. Part time legislature. We are only one of 9 with such expensive governance. If you think about it, you can name the other 8– easily.

    tk.

  2. Actually, Michigan’s gas tax previously ranked 33rd in the nation. With the increase it now ranks 16th (source: American Petroleum Institute, which tracks the ever changing gas tax rates of all 50 states). Additionally, Michigan has been among the bottom nine states in the nation in per capita state and local road funding since at least 1964. Michigan is also one of only about eight states that also charges sales tax on its gas, though none of the revenue from that goes to its roads.

  3. Orville Hoksch says

    Looking at Livernois road near the intersection with University, I wonder if the same kind of half a– construction practiced there is evidence of a Road Commmission/civil service farce as we have experienced with the civil service disaster in Flint. Raising the tax won’t do a thing to improve the roads if we can’t be sure of competent management of the new money.

Speak Your Mind

*