Pa. Panel Recommends Higher Gasoline Taxes and Vehicle Fees
HARRISBURG, Pa. (CBS) - As expected, Pennsylvania governor Tom Corbett's "Transportation Funding Commission" has recommended increasing fuel taxes and vehicle fees to raise new money for roads, bridges, and mass transit.
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation secretary Barry Schoch (in white shirtsleeves in photo) says one of the panel's key recommendations involves gradually lifting a cap on wholesale gasoline taxes. Schoch says if the cap were lifted completely today, it would add another 20 cents to a gallon of gas -- though he says the tax has never been completely passed on to motorists.
"That's never occurred," he says. "The likelihood is that it would be somewhere between 20 and 50 percent, based on past history."
The commission also recommends increasing driver's license fees by $5 and registration fees by $13, with inflationary increases after that.
To cut costs, the panel also recommends two-year renewals for registration and eight-year renewals for licenses.
The commission also recommends enabling legislation that might allow for more tolling of roads but does not take a position on any specific roads or scenarios.
Reported by KYW Harrisburg bureau chief Tony Romeo
