ST. PAUL – House Democrats are expected to approve Monday a transportation bill (H.F. 1555) which increases the gas tax by 20 cents per gallon – a 70-percent increase – and in total raises taxes by more than $4 billion over four years.
“The impacts of this gas tax would be felt most by low- and middle-income earners and people in Greater Minnesota overall,” said Rep. Dean Urdahl, R-Acton Township. “We showed during the last biennium there are ways to provide more funding for transportation without raising taxes, such as dedicating sales taxes paid on the purchases of auto parts toward roads and bridges. The state already has $1 billion in surplus revenue, so let’s make transportation the priority we agree it is with existing sources.”
To the contrary, the House Democrat majority proposes reversing the major investments House and Senate Republicans made to fund road and bridge infrastructure without a gas tax increase. It transfers statutorily dedicated auto parts sales tax funds – $417 million in 2020-21 – into the general fund.
In addition to the increase of 20 cents per gallon – which would give Minnesota the fourth-highest gas tax in the country – the House Democrats’ transportation bill increases the vehicle registration tax, the metro sales tax, and the new vehicle sales tax will increase taxes on Minnesotans by a combined $2.3 billion.
-30-