Virginia: Gas Tax Increase Likely for January 2015
- Nov 18, 2014 | Gail Cole
In 2013, Virginia lawmakers decided to link the fate of the state’s gasoline tax to the fate of a federal online sales tax legislation. Under HB 2313, the motor fuels tax imposed on gasoline would jump from 3.5% to 5.1% on January 1, 2015, unless federal lawmakers passed online sales tax legislation. If an internet sales tax is approved by the end of 2014, Virginia will not increase the gas tax.
Passage of an online sales tax by the end of 2014 now seems all but impossible, as House Speaker John Boehner is staunchly opposed to tackling online sales tax during the lame duck session. That means Virginia probably won’t receive the projected $320 million the online sales tax was expected to generate by 2018—money that was figured into the state budget.
Virginia Republican Delegate Bob Marshall has been working to prevent the gas tax increase from taking effect. On the other hand, Democratic Delegate Jennifer McClellan insists “the 45% increase shouldn’t cause a huge burden to tax payers” who already have one of the lowest gas taxes in the country.
For now, at least, the gas tax seems set to increase come January 1. The state needs money to fund transportation projects and education.
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