Keller @ Large: Massachusetts House Rejects Proposal To Drop State Gas Tax
BOSTON (CBS) - Soaring gas prices are on everyone's minds these days.
According to GOP gubernatorial candidate Chris Doughty, "a man stopped me and said, 'I have to make a choice now, I have to choose between filling my tank, heating my house or buying groceries."
And fellow Republican candidate Geoff Diehl, who campaigned successfully against indexing the state gas tax to inflation back in 2014, knows a populist issue when he sees it.
"The gas tax affects middle-to-low-income families the most, they have the least fuel-efficient cars, they really depend on getting around the state more than wealthier households," he said.
So Doughty and Diehl are joining Republicans and some Democrats around the country in pushing gas tax suspensions as a way to ease the sticker shock.
Both parties support the Russian energy embargo that may soon push those soaring prices even higher. But the prospect of consumer pain and backlash also presents political opportunity.
Doughty is calling for an indefinite halt to the 24-cent-per-gallon state tax.
"The citizens shouldn't be the only ones who are tightening their belt, the State House should also," he said.
Diehl wants the Legislature to lift the gas and vehicle excise taxes through June at least.
"They might realize there's pain at the pump that's not gonna be good for them in an election year," he said.
And a third tax cut plan tying gas tax collection to the price of fuel was briefly debated in the House floor Wednesday afternoon.
"Giving the taxpayers of Massachusetts a little relief does not hurt, does not hurt us at all," said Rep. Peter Durant (R-Spencer), sponsor of the budget amendment.
But critics claimed abrupt removal of a longstanding revenue stream could hurt the bond rating that helps us pay for road and bridge repair.
And that was that. (Good luck figuring out how your rep voted - the measure was defeated on a voice vote.)
The two Democratic candidates for governor, Sonia Chang-Diaz and Maura Healey, also dismissed the idea, and Governor Charlie Baker indicated he prefers his own $700 million tax cut plan. But if this surge in gas prices lingers on, you can count on hearing more of this debate.
Because it hits so many consumers so hard, there are few political topics more volatile than this one.
