President Trump said May 1 that he would consider raising the gas tax as a means of boosting infrastructure revenues, however the President stopped short of announcing a full-scale endorsement for what would amount to a major policy shift for the Administration.
The statement, which was made during an interview with Bloomberg News, came just days after the Trump Administration announced that it was aiming to put forth a blueprint for a $1 trillion infrastructure plan by mid-May.
[Trump says he’d consider increasing the gas tax]
Since his campaign, the President has indicated that his massive infrastructure plan would be paid for largely through private investments, which could lead to such revenue schemes as tolling and rest area commercialization, which NATSO opposes.
NATSO strongly supports a sustainable source of funding for infrastructure such as increasing the motor fuels tax. The federal tax, which sits at 18.4 cents for gasoline and 24.4 cents per gallon for diesel, was last raised in 1993.
By mid-afternoon, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer was down playing the President’s comments regarding the motor fuels tax amid push back from Republicans who reject the idea.
[Trump Study of Gas Tax Could Run Afoul of GOP, Rural Voters]
Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao in an interview also reiterated that the Administration’s infrastructure plan could be paid for through private investment and tax overhaul.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said May 1, however, that infrastructure spending is unlikely to be coupled with tax reform.
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