Gas tax hike likely best option for raising road money

Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers promised on the campaign trail to address Wisconsin’s crumbling roads and bridges. And he is planning to unveil his plan for doing so when he introduces his state budget. The plan for paying to fix our roads, rated among the worst in the nation, will likely include some sort of new tax or other revenue source to pay for the road work. Nobody likes to pay more, but something has to be done before we start falling into those giant potholes that make driving in Wisconsin dangerous. A number of options are on the table, including toll roads, higher vehicle registration fees, a wheel tax, or a hike in the state’s gas tax. Raising the gas tax seems the best choice among those options. Wisconsin drivers currently pay 39 cents a gallon in tax when filling up their vehicles. That is already higher than the nationwide average, but the fact is the gas tax hasn’t been raised in Wisconsin in 12 years. And it no longer is indexed for inflation, so it has remained stagnant. Raising the gas tax by a nickel would mean an extra sixty cents or so per fill up. That may not be pleasant, but it would raise the money needed to finally fix our roads, without putting off projects and without borrowing to pay for the work. There are no good solutions here, but raising the gas tax seems more palatable than the other options.