Gas tax is dead through 2018 at least, House speaker says

After the Alabama House of Representatives carried over a gas tax for road and bridge improvements, House Speaker Mac McCutcheon, R-Capshaw, told reporters the bill was dead for the session and the next one. McCutcheon has been a strong proponent for the tax.

By fall of 2024, Alabama would have added 9-cents in taxes on every gallon of fuel sold, under HB487 by Rep. Bill Poole, R-Tuscaloosa. The bill would have given the Legislature the option of dropping the final 3-cents of additional tax in 2024, should the proceeds from the 4-cents it proposed to impose in September 2017 and 2-cents in September 2019 not been enough to pay off a $1 billion bond issue needed to improve Alabama’s deteriorating roads and bridges.

The Legislature last raised the gasoline tax in 1992. The state now charges 18 cents tax on each gallon of gasoline.

This article is part of the Alabama Retail Report, a communication for Alabama Retail Association members. Not a member? Join us!

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