A new Statehouse Report QuickPoll shows more than 90 percent of readers want an increase in the state’s gasoline tax to pay for billions of dollars of needed maintenance for roads and bridges.
According to the survey, answered by 240 readers since Monday, only 10 percent said the tax should not be increase or nothing done to the $40 billion in road and bridge maintenance needs over the next 25 years, as identified by the federal government. With the past week’s flooding that washed away some roads and stressed hundreds of already-deficient bridges, South Carolinians have been focusing on funding needs for current and future needs. Results:
- 43 percent of those who took the survey said the tax per gallon should be raised 20 cents, which would generate about $678 million annually in new revenue.
- 33.8 percent said to raise it 10 cents a gallon, which would add $340 million in new revenues to state coffers.
- 12.5 percent said to raise the user fee by $1 per gallon, which would generate about $3.3 billion every year.
- 7 percent said “hell no” to increasing the gas tax.
- 3 percent said to do nothing.
We Can Do Better, South Carolina!