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As gas prices continue to rise, ending, or suspending, the federal fuel tax is a popular idea on both ends of the political spectrum. Both progressive Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner and Republican President Donald Trump have called for an end to the tax.
While we understand the crush of rising fuel prices, ending the gas tax is a bad idea.
Fuel taxes, at both the state and federal level, are largely used to fund road and bridge projects. Without that money, fewer of these projects will get funded and it will take longer to complete them.
Maine — like many other states — already has a big backlog of needed transportation projects that await funding, including work to make Maine’s roads and streets safer, for drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists.
Without fuel taxes, fewer roads and bridges will get repaired, improved or built. That means longer commutes, more wear and tear on their vehicles (and more repair bills) and likely more crashes.
Federal fuel taxes are currently 18.4 cents per gallon for gasoline and 24.4 cents per gallon for diesel. Yes, eliminating these taxes will reduce fuel costs, but other costs could quickly eat into those savings.
A better way to stop the climb in fuel prices would be to end the war with Iran and to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz. That, of course, may be more difficult, and involve complex diplomacy, than simply ending or suspending fuel taxes, which would need congressional approval at the federal level. A couple states have already suspended their state fuel taxes.
To be clear, we should end hostilities with Iran, and the deaths that have resulted around the Middle East, for humanitarian reasons, not just to lower fuel prices.
It’s worth noting that the rise in fuel prices was largely self-inflicted by Trump who launched a war with Iran with little — perhaps even no — consideration of the consequences. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a major route for Middle East oil exports, was foreseen by many international experts, and Trump’s military advisers, but apparently caught the White House by surprise. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff John Caine declined to answer a question from Sen. Susan Collins about this during a Senate hearing on Tuesday.
It also remains unclear what the U.S. objectives are. Trump continues to talk about Iran giving up its nuclear capabilities. It did so when it signed an agreement with the United States in 2015. Iran was adhering to that agreement, which was negotiated by then-President Barack Obama, according to international inspectors. Trump unilaterally ended the agreement in 2018 during his first time as president. Earlier this year, he suggested Iran could soon attack the U.S., a threat that was dismissed by U.S. defense officials. Still, the U.S., along with Israel, began attacking Iran in late February.
Oil prices rose again this week because the strait remained largely closed as officials in Iran and the U.S. disagreed on a possible ceasefire plan.
Hence, the idea of ending or suspending gas taxes.
To reiterate, these taxes are the major sources of funding for U.S. transportation projects, which already face a backlog of nearly $700 billion in unfunded projects in the next decade. According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, more than a third of U.S. roads are in poor or mediocre condition.
Without fuel taxes, that number will rise, costing all Americans.
While the numbers are likely lower in Maine where traffic is generally light, an analysis from the society found that typical drivers lost 43 hours to traffic congestion, costing them $771 worth of time in 2024. Vehicle and tear wear because of poor road conditions added another $527 a year in Maine, according to TRIP. These costs far exceed any savings that may result from a gas tax holiday.
Platner, the presumptive Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate, wants to end the federal gas tax as part of a broader energy plan and to pay for transportation work with higher taxes on billionaires. While such a plan is unlikely to pass Congress, it also ends the strong tie between fuel taxes and funding for transportation infrastructure, which admittedly can hit poor people hard. While fuel taxes, including Maine’s 30-cent per gallon tax on gasoline, are currently insufficient to pay for this work, assessing fees on those who use our roads the most makes sense. State lawmakers have looked at other ways of funding transportation projects — including assessing a miles driven fee (essentially a toll), fees on electric vehicles and more general tax revenue — but not agreed upon alternatives to fuel taxes.
Ending the war in Iran must remain a priority. We should not be diverted from that goal but token efforts to reduce gas prices by eliminating fuel taxes, which will ultimately cost us more in the long run.
