Sen. Jennifer Beck and Sen. Mike Doherty held a press conference to oppose a gas tax increase proposal at the New Jersey State House on June 15, 2016. (SenateNJ.com)
Under the tax increase proposal that is set to be voted upon by both houses of the New Jersey Legislature on Wednesday, the state’s current gas tax of 14.5 cents per gallon would increase by 158 percent to 37.5 cents per gallon.
“I opposed the 23 cent/gallon gas tax increase in June, and I continue to oppose it today,” said Doherty. “Until we get a handle on why New Jersey spends significantly more per mile than every other state, any new gas tax revenues we raise would be wasted. I don’t think that’s fair to drivers.”
Doherty has long called for a study to examine excessive state transportation costs as the starting point of any transportation funding discussion. He is the sponsor of S-1888, which would create the “State Transportation Cost Analysis Task Force.”
He and Senator Jennifer Beck (R-11) maintain an online petition opposed to a gas tax increase that has been signed more than 12,000 times.
“The thousands of people who signed our ‘no gas tax’ petition are telling us that an increase would only add to the state’s already oppressive taxes,” added Doherty. “I guess some people aren’t satisfied with New Jersey having the third greatest tax burden in the nation. They won’t be happy until we’re number one.”
According to the non-partisan Tax Foundation, New Jersey resident’s shoulder the third-greatest state and local tax burden.
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