Shuster: Gas tax increases could be included in broad reform package

Increases in taxes paid on gasoline purchases could be included in a broader tax reform deal, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) said Tuesday.

Asked specifically about an increase in the tax on gasoline that is paid by ocean barge operators, Shuster said it is difficult to get any fuel tax through Congress by itself.

But he said it could be possible in a broader package.

“In the times we live, it’s very difficult…to move something like that generally,” Shuster said in an appearance before the Arlington, Va.-based Waterways Council.

“That being said, we in the House are going to do tax reform,” he continued. “When you do a big grand package of tax reform, there may be opportunities to do that. Standing on the rooftops saying you want to increase the gas tax…is not the most effective way to do that.”

Transportation supporters have called for an increase in the 18.4-cents-per-gallon tax that is paid by automobile drivers. The tax, which has not been increased since 1993, currently brings in about $35 billion per year.

The most recent transportation bill approved by Congress authorized more than $50 billion annually in spending, which road and transit advocates argues is the bare minimum needed to maintain the current system.

Shuster has expressed openness to considering new methods of funding for future transportation bills. The highway trust fund, which is the traditional source for funding, has been filled by gas tax revenue for years, but the fund is expected to dwindle further as cars become even more fuel efficient.

Shuster has referred to the gap in gas tax revenue as a “transportation fiscal cliff” that will have to be addressed soon by lawmakers.

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