What is the federal gasoline tax paying for right now?

[Sonicwall]

And how much is the current tax on it?

Because it ain't enough - Europe has a more progressive gas taxation system - and that's why the prices are high in Europe, but it pays for your health care, clean air, well-maintained roads/bridges/infrastructure - why can't we get the same in America? That would give oil/gas pause. We can demand an alternative fuel option, or we can restructure the gas pricing to be more progressive instead of keeping the profits.

What do *YOU* think?

[physioex]

1. Oh certainly.....

I think it should be taxed at an even higher rate and be used to fund mass transit perhaps even education.

[Shagbark Hickory]

2. I think gas is expensive enough and we aren't going to get those things even if we do.

See in Europe, they have cars that get 2-3 times the fuel economy. So gas that costs 2-3 times as much is not really that much of an inconvenience.

[Shagbark Hickory]

3. Also in Europe, policy is not determined by corporations and politicians are not

bought and sold on the open market.
So revenues collected are actually spent on stuff.

[Shagbark Hickory]

4. Also taxing gasoline is an unfair rate of taxation for people that earn less money...

At least in a capitalist system like ours and especially where the rich continue to get richer and the poor and middle class are struggling to stay afloat.
If you want to charge a higher sales tax (which is what this is), you have to level the playing field in terms of salary.

Furthermore, there is no viable alternative in most parts of the country. Unlike smoking cigarettes, where the tax on cigarettes is used to dissuade people from smoking, with gasoline, there is no alternative. For most people, if you don't buy gasoline, you're not going to get to work.
And don't give me this ''just ride a bicycle'' crap. Tell that to someone in Wisconsin to ride a bicycle in 3 feet of snow when it's minus 5 degrees.

[Yo_Mama]

5. It goes to the highway fund

Because gas consumption has been cut, the highway fund is running a deficit. That's why they want to increase it.

Federal gas tax is 18.4 cents a gallon. If you raise it too much, you'll just pound another nail in the coffin of the lower earners and retirees.

Public transport just doesn't work in areas without high population densities. So what some people are advocating in this thread is targeted against the poor, often the elderly and definitely more rural populations.

We just don't need to beat the heads of the lower earners any more. We've done quite enough of that already.

High personal taxes in Europe pay for health care, etc. Try to fund that off energy taxation, and you'll end up with starving people. Income taxes are progressive. Regressive taxation has a sharp limit of viability.