State Republicans Propose Eliminating Gas Tax... for a while

Daniel G wrote:

THANK YOU DERRICK AND DON!!! A breath of fresh air in West Michigan!
Whenever I read that these snakey repubs are coming up with something TO HELP US POOR POOR PEONS I automatically see a wolf is sheeps clothing. Remember GBUSH LOWERED YOUR TAXES TOO.....I wonder what the raises in fuel, the raises in food, the raises in all forms of transportation actually represent as a TAX ON ALL OF US that directly funds the greed of the traders on Wall Street? Then again to them any profit is a good thing even if we all go to ruination at sublight speed by paying it.
Time to TAX THE GREED not the people.
Stop the dollars going into the sand box called Iraq...that would help a LOT!
Doc in Rockford

Boy, do you need glasses.

You have absolutely no clue what is really going on here, do you? You have no sense of perspective. None of this chaos started happening until your democrat friends took over the United States Congress in 2006. In addition, your environmental friends are the ones responsible for the rise in food prices with their bright idea of taking food out of the food market and introducing it into the fuel market. Oh, and let's not forget about all of the oil that the United States is hoarding away beneath the surface of our land, and absolutely no one is allowed to have one single drop more of it because it would "hurt the environment." And how about the fact that our country's population has almost doubled in the past 30 years, yet we haven't one more petroleum refinery to show for it?

Get a clue.

Chris Pritchard wrote:

That would not be good since the roads are already so bad. If the state wants to do away with that tax, the state should find a way to tax the Federal Government to make up for that lost road revenue. After all isn't the Federal Government and the Military the ones we rely on to control gas prices and prevent a depression. If the Federal Government doesn't want to control the prices, why should people in MI suffer. Everyone is already out of work in this state. The gas prices are like urinating in the face of someone you just beat up and knocked down.

The MILITARY? Are you serious? What does the MILITARY have to do with GAS PRICES????

Last I remember, the military was responsible for national defense.

And the government has NO control of the commodities market. Nor should it.

Get a clue.

You know, I like this idea, but there is no way that the democrats in Lansing are ever going to agree with it, so it really doesn't matter.

I think it is a great idea to take away the gas tax for the summer, we all need any help we can get, the cost of living is going up but or wages are not, some of us are having a hard time making ends meat.

I think it is a great idea to take away the gas tax for the summer, we all need any help we can get, the cost of living is going up but our wages are not, some of us are having a hard time making ends meat.

The high gas prices are only helping Bush so yes please cut the tax and help us. The cost of living is going up but our wages are not. Some of us need all the help we can get.

Every little bit helps. I also think the legislators should look at the budget and at non-essential expenditures that you and I would spot in a minute!! and work on cutting the rest of those taxes.

OMG...Are these the SAME Republicans who voted for the SOCIALIST ban on allowing business owners' to decide if they want to allow smoking in THEIR OWN ESTABLISHMENTS? Ah yes, the Rebublicans who swear they are the businessmans' friend.

As someone who is sick and tired of driving on crappy roads, this is one of the FEW taxes I support. If you drive, you should pay for the upkeep on the roads/infrastructure. If you want a gas tax holiday, you have NO right to b itch about potholes.

While I don't agree with repealing the federal and state excise taxes on gasoline, repealing the charging of sales tax on gasoline has been something I have been advocating for a long time.

With the way that the sales tax works, we are not just paying sales tax on the gasoline, but the excise takes as well. The federal tax is 18.4 cents per gallon. The Michigan tax is 19 cents per gallon for gasoline. On top of that we pay .875 cents per gallon to pay for environmental clean-up.

But on top of it, Michigan charges sales tax on the net of the price+ excise taxes, and as the price of gasoline goes up, so does the sales tax that gets charged to the consumer.

So with the current price of $3.87 a gallon, we pay 37.275 cents per gallon in excise taxes, and 21 cents per gallon in sales tax. I can't speak for everyone here, but I don't think that it is right for the state government to benefit from the higher cost at the pump in the form of higher tax revenues, nor do I feel that it is right that they have been charging sales tax on the excise taxes.

EITHER stop charging sales tax on gasoline or drop the state excise tax.

Bobbiez wrote:

OMG...Are these the SAME Republicans who voted for the SOCIALIST ban on allowing business owners' to decide if they want to allow smoking in THEIR OWN ESTABLISHMENTS? Ah yes, the Rebublicans who swear they are the businessmans' friend.
As someone who is sick and tired of driving on crappy roads, this is one of the FEW taxes I support. If you drive, you should pay for the upkeep on the roads/infrastructure. If you want a gas tax holiday, you have NO right to b itch about potholes.

Bobbiez- you obviously didn't read or if you did read the article, you didn't understand it. This question is about repealing the SALES TAX that is being charged on gasoline, which goes into the general fund. It is not earmarked for road repair, that is the job of the excise taxes.

Frankly I don't see how it matters whether it was introduced by a Republicrat or a Demican, it is something that should never have been charged in the first place.

At this point I'll take ANYTHING however small it is. It still wont alter my riving plans any..I did that a buck50 ago.

Bobbiez wrote:

As someone who is sick and tired of driving on crappy roads, this is one of the FEW taxes I support. If you drive, you should pay for the upkeep on the roads/infrastructure. If you want a gas tax holiday, you have NO right to b itch about potholes.

UM, did you READ THE ARTICLE???
"......but wouldn't cut the state's $.19 per gallon gasoline tax that is used to fund road construction and maintenance."

It won't be taking anything away from your beloved maintainence and pothole fixing.

But it will help tourism in our state, and it will also help families who are trying to feed their kids and pay their mortgages, while paying almost twice as much for gas to get to work as they did 10 years ago.

I put $25 a week in my tank, and minus the 6% sales tax would save me a grand total of $1.50. Gee, thanks!

Sarah you are not sweet :)lol The Democrats were turned over a mess by Engler... Although I detest Mrs. Granholms silence on so many issues the repubs still have enough votes to stop real intiatives from becoming law. Their Alaska drilling plans will lower prices by a couple cnts in ten years if it ever goes through... Nuclear power, clean coal burning techniques, and a real acions by every American to lower their energy usage can make a difference.The surplus you mention should be used to help fund our pathetic schools in urban cities to stop the flow of helplessness and the surging jail cell count caused by uneducated people. The problems facing this nation will not be solved by the saving of perhaps $5 a week by the masses because of a pittance tax holiday on the states gas tax....

Isnt doing away with a tax the same thing that the US did in the 70's that caused so many problems? I mean what is a gallon of gas going to drop down to and is it going to hurt our economy already worse than what it is now? I drive alot, so dont get me wrong it would be a nice thing to have cheaper prices, but what is the long term affect on something like this?

Is their a reserve of funds to finish the current construction or will they just walk off the job... I think it's a good idea but funding cannot stop for roads. Maybe skim a little off the WELFARE budget. There are too many benifits given to people who don't actually need the assistance. They won't help me fund college, but send someone who can't keep their legs closed to college & pay for childcare! We need to look at where all the money is going... what about all of the driver responsibility fees going to the state from drinking & driving?? The smallest offense is $500 a year for 2 years & there are a LOT of people paying it.

Saif wrote:

<quoted text>
Bobbiez- you obviously didn't read or if you did read the article, you didn't understand it. This question is about repealing the SALES TAX that is being charged on gasoline, which goes into the general fund. It is not earmarked for road repair, that is the job of the excise taxes.
Frankly I don't see how it matters whether it was introduced by a Republicrat or a Demican, it is something that should never have been charged in the first place.

Okay, okay...my bad. I didn't pay enough attention to what I was reading. Thank you for all who jumped on this and set me straight. We all make mistakes, I'm sorry I posted without having my ducks in a row.

people on fixed incomes its hurting
us bad food wise to cant get much food
at these prices cut michigan's gas
price down it will bring our ecodomey
back up i am on a fixed income.

we here in michigan need lower gas prices
to bring the ecodomy back up thank you.

Nothing surprises me anymore with the leadership in Michigan. This is not going to fix the mess this state is in. maybe the leaders in lansing should donate there pay check to help the problem.