April 11, 2015 7:55 pm • Jordan Maddox Lee Springfield Bureau
SPRINGFIELD | A potential boost in Illinois' gas tax could help repair Illinois roadways, but organizations affected by such an increase say that is not the answer.
Bill Fleischli, executive vice president of the Illinois Petroleum Marketers Association and the Illinois Association of Convenience Stores, said an increase in motor fuel taxes is not needed and it will hinder Illinois business.
“Though gas prices have been on the decline the past few months, there’s no guarantee the low prices are here to stay,” he told reporters at a news conference Thursday. “Illinois citizens and businesses pay enough on motor fuel to fund (a) more than adequate road construction program.”
Illinois’s motor fuel tax is 19 cents per gallon on top of the federal rate of 18.4 cents. The state also charges a 6.25 percent sales tax on gas.
A coalition of business and labor groups earlier this year floated a plan that could reduce the sales tax on gas, while increasing the motor fuel tax as a way to pay for road and bridge construction projects. Gov. Bruce Rauner says he wants to jump-start a statewide construction program, but has not outlined a specific way to pay for the projects.
Fleischli said the sales tax on fuel goes to the general fund of the budget and some of the motor fuel tax is handed to agencies. So the money generated by a higher tax may not be guaranteed for road construction anyway.
The road fund did have a large surplus until last month when the General Assembly took $250 million to help pay for the $1.6 billion deficit in this year’s budget.
“Taxpayers currently have no assurance that the dollars are actually going to roads,” said Andrew Nelms, deputy director of Americans for Prosperity, an anti-tax advocacy group.
Curt Adams, president of Ayerco, which operates 24 convenience stores throughout central Illinois, said increasing the tax could push residents near the state border to head into other, lower-tax states.
Fleischli said roads should be repaired and there is already enough money to do so.
A Rauner spokeswoman did not offer a timeline for when the governor might outline his plans for a construction program.
"Updating and improving the state's infrastructure is one of Governor Rauner's priorities. He looks forward to working with the Legislature to make those investments for the future of Illinois,” said spokeswoman Catherine Kelly.
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