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Gretcholm wants to raise fuel taxes by 45 cents/gallon by 2020

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MWmetalhead
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Re: Gretcholm wants to raise fuel taxes by 45 cents/gallon by 2020

Post by MWmetalhead » Tue Mar 05, 2019 5:11 pm

My auto repairs over the past seven years have been limited to replacement of worn struts (covered by new vehicle warranty), and on a subsequent vehicle, a $200 realignment. Would LOVE to see the analysis behind that $562 per year calculation.

The fact the graphic produced by Whitmer's administration uses different units of measurement (i.e. some figures are monthly; some are annual) and shows those measurement units in very small print automatically has me questioning the validity of the figures.

I will say the $23 per month gas tax increase figure per driver seems about right. In a household with two adult drivers, that's over $500 per year, just as I wrote in my opening post!

Her proposal...
- Does ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to address the most exorbitant cost of driving in our state, our absurdly high auto insurance premiums!
- Expands unfairness and complexity in our personal income tax code by (i) giving preference to pensioners by offering them tax-free income, (ii) expanding the EITC, which benefits a somewhat small group of taxpayers, but NOT expanding the homestead credit or personal exemption, which would have given at least a little relief to a larger group of tax filers, (iii) introducing a convoluted tax credit for S-Corp / LLC / Partnership members to partially mitigate application of a 6% corporate income tax to S-Corps / LLCs / Partnerships.
- Keeps the ridiculous 6% sales tax on fuel, which preserves volatility in tax levies and Treasury revenue, since gasoline prices are inherently volatile. Remove this idiotic tax and either (a) raise the overall sales tax by 0.5% or (b) implement a two-tiered personal income tax (as opposed to the current flat tax).

Why should pensioners pay ZERO in taxes on that income when those of us who generate income from wages, business earnings, and other investments pay taxes? Matt is right; many of us would basically be paying higher taxes (to fill a budget hole) so that a distinct group - some of whom might be pretty well off financially - could pay zero taxes.

I sure as hell hope Mike Shirkey, Lee Chatfield and others absolutely demand that auto insurance reform be signed into law before any type of tax increase is pursued, or better yet, bundle auto insurance premium relief with a roads funding package.

The time may have come to consider a two-tier personal income tax in Michigan, which is common in many states. In many states, the highest rate is within a range of 5.5% to 8%. I think marginal rates of 4% and 5.5% would be sensible. Keep the partial exemptions Snyder signed into law for tax filers aged 67 and older. Keep the pension tax Snyder signed into law. DO NOT apply the corporate income tax to non C-Corp business entities.

I am disappointed to see Whitmer's proposal didn't include bonds. A big, one-time slug of funds on the front end would decrease annual maintenance costs going forward.



Deleted User 8570

Re: Gretcholm wants to raise fuel taxes by 45 cents/gallon by 2020

Post by Deleted User 8570 » Tue Mar 05, 2019 5:47 pm

Has anybody brought up the fact that as MPG’s rise the amount of gas tax revenue drops due to less gas being purchased so it naturally has to rise to simply maintain the status quo?

If cars still got 8 MPG then 45 cents would be incredible... but we were recently at $3 a gallon and unlike a few years ago nobody really batted an eye... most vehicles, even pickups these days, get 25+ MPG, something that was unthinkable even 20-25 years ago.

Does anybody know what the most recent gas tax rate changes were? How many times has it been adjusted and when?



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Re: Gretcholm wants to raise fuel taxes by 45 cents/gallon by 2020

Post by TC Shuts Up » Tue Mar 05, 2019 6:22 pm

The best taxes are the ones you can completely avoid by making the right choices, like a Marijuana Tax. My motto is "Soak The Stoners". Cigarette and Wine and Liquor Taxes are also good. Beer is good one for tax too.
Last edited by TC Shuts Up on Tue Mar 05, 2019 6:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.


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Re: Gretcholm wants to raise fuel taxes by 45 cents/gallon by 2020

Post by tapeisrolling » Tue Mar 05, 2019 6:26 pm

Interesting so far no comment on 'load limits' of trucks in the State. Ever notice the trucks with the big coils of steel? If the trailer has 1 coil it is leaving the State. If it has 2 it is not. Big difference in overall weight here.
I once had a trucker explain that all the extra axles made the load viable by spreading the weight on the road. I asked him if the same axles spread the load over a bridge or was ALL the weight on the bridge at the same time doing damage. His reaction was not a kind one.



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Re: Gretcholm wants to raise fuel taxes by 45 cents/gallon by 2020

Post by Deleted User 14935 » Tue Mar 05, 2019 6:57 pm

TC Shuts Up wrote:
Tue Mar 05, 2019 6:22 pm
The best taxes are the ones you can completely avoid by making the right choices, like a Marijuana Tax. My motto is "Soak The Stoners". Cigarette and Wine and Liquor Taxes are also good. Beer is good one for tax too.
Yes, Because we’re so stoned we just don’t know where our money goes.



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Re: Gretcholm wants to raise fuel taxes by 45 cents/gallon by 2020

Post by Turkeytop » Tue Mar 05, 2019 7:20 pm

TC Shuts Up wrote:
Tue Mar 05, 2019 6:22 pm
The best taxes are the ones you can completely avoid by making the right choices, like a Marijuana Tax. My motto is "Soak The Stoners". Cigarette and Wine and Liquor Taxes are also good. Beer is good one for tax too.
It works well in Canada. They call it "Sin Taxes." My 1.75 L bottle of Canadian Club I get for $17 here in Florida, costs me $60 at home. I enjoy the cheap booze while I'm here, but when I get home, it's time to pay up. High taxes on alcohol in Canada help support important social programs without which, I couldn't afford to spend my winters in Florida.


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Re: Gretcholm wants to raise fuel taxes by 45 cents/gallon by 2020

Post by Deleted User 14896 » Tue Mar 05, 2019 7:24 pm

tapeisrolling wrote:
Tue Mar 05, 2019 6:26 pm
Interesting so far no comment on 'load limits' of trucks in the State. Ever notice the trucks with the big coils of steel? If the trailer has 1 coil it is leaving the State. If it has 2 it is not. Big difference in overall weight here.
I once had a trucker explain that all the extra axles made the load viable by spreading the weight on the road. I asked him if the same axles spread the load over a bridge or was ALL the weight on the bridge at the same time doing damage. His reaction was not a kind one.
Every time I see someone blame the roads on heavy trucks, I ponder why 75 northbound turns to shit as soon as you cross the state line. If the trucks were to blame, the road would be nice until you start passing entrance ramps in Monroe.

Our roads are due to poor quality work. Poor craftsmanship.
It's inexcusable when they do a stretch of freeway, and the road starts popping up weeks after it's done.
It's happened twice on 75 thru downriver. It just happened on 696.
There should be NO way those contractors should be awarded a contract again.



Deleted User 14935

Re: Gretcholm wants to raise fuel taxes by 45 cents/gallon by 2020

Post by Deleted User 14935 » Tue Mar 05, 2019 7:28 pm

Turkeytop wrote:
Tue Mar 05, 2019 7:20 pm
TC Shuts Up wrote:
Tue Mar 05, 2019 6:22 pm
The best taxes are the ones you can completely avoid by making the right choices, like a Marijuana Tax. My motto is "Soak The Stoners". Cigarette and Wine and Liquor Taxes are also good. Beer is good one for tax too.
It works well in Canada. They call it "Sin Taxes." My 1.75 L bottle of Canadian Club I get for $17 here in Florida, costs me $60 at home. I enjoy the cheap booze while I'm here, but when I get home, it's time to pay up. High taxes on alcohol in Canada help support important social programs without which, I couldn't afford to spend my winters in Florida.
Can you say socialism.



Deleted User 14935

Re: Gretcholm wants to raise fuel taxes by 45 cents/gallon by 2020

Post by Deleted User 14935 » Tue Mar 05, 2019 7:40 pm

Mike Oxlong wrote:
Tue Mar 05, 2019 7:24 pm
tapeisrolling wrote:
Tue Mar 05, 2019 6:26 pm
Interesting so far no comment on 'load limits' of trucks in the State. Ever notice the trucks with the big coils of steel? If the trailer has 1 coil it is leaving the State. If it has 2 it is not. Big difference in overall weight here.
I once had a trucker explain that all the extra axles made the load viable by spreading the weight on the road. I asked him if the same axles spread the load over a bridge or was ALL the weight on the bridge at the same time doing damage. His reaction was not a kind one.
Every time I see someone blame the roads on heavy trucks, I ponder why 75 northbound turns to shit as soon as you cross the state line. If the trucks were to blame, the road would be nice until you start passing entrance ramps in Monroe.

Our roads are due to poor quality work. Poor craftsmanship.
It's inexcusable when they do a stretch of freeway, and the road starts popping up weeks after it's done.
It's happened twice on 75 thru downriver. It just happened on 696.
There should be NO way those contractors should be awarded a contract again.
When John Carlo had all the contracts back in the early 2K’s his company did a hurry up job on all their road contracts because if they completed the job before they were contracted to be done Carlo’s company would get millions more, So they did a shitty job and this is the result today.



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Re: Gretcholm wants to raise fuel taxes by 45 cents/gallon by 2020

Post by audiophile » Tue Mar 05, 2019 8:08 pm

NS8401 wrote:
Tue Mar 05, 2019 5:47 pm
Has anybody brought up the fact that as MPG’s rise the amount of gas tax revenue drops due to less gas being purchased so it naturally has to rise to simply maintain the status quo?

If cars still got 8 MPG then 45 cents would be incredible... but we were recently at $3 a gallon and unlike a few years ago nobody really batted an eye... most vehicles, even pickups these days, get 25+ MPG, something that was unthinkable even 20-25 years ago.

Does anybody know what the most recent gas tax rate changes were? How many times has it been adjusted and when?
What about electric cars that pay no road tax at all?


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Re: Gretcholm wants to raise fuel taxes by 45 cents/gallon by 2020

Post by MWmetalhead » Tue Mar 05, 2019 8:21 pm

There's no doubt in my mind MDOT did a terrible job of post-construction inspections and warranty enforcement until public scrutiny greatly intensified.



Deleted User 8570

Re: Gretcholm wants to raise fuel taxes by 45 cents/gallon by 2020

Post by Deleted User 8570 » Tue Mar 05, 2019 8:35 pm

audiophile wrote:
Tue Mar 05, 2019 8:08 pm
NS8401 wrote:
Tue Mar 05, 2019 5:47 pm
Has anybody brought up the fact that as MPG’s rise the amount of gas tax revenue drops due to less gas being purchased so it naturally has to rise to simply maintain the status quo?

If cars still got 8 MPG then 45 cents would be incredible... but we were recently at $3 a gallon and unlike a few years ago nobody really batted an eye... most vehicles, even pickups these days, get 25+ MPG, something that was unthinkable even 20-25 years ago.

Does anybody know what the most recent gas tax rate changes were? How many times has it been adjusted and when?
What about electric cars that pay no road tax at all?
That's a good point as well. I strongly suspect that the ourage here is strongly overblown...



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Re: Gretcholm wants to raise fuel taxes by 45 cents/gallon by 2020

Post by bmw » Tue Mar 05, 2019 8:49 pm

It took them SEVEN and a half DAMN MONTHS to re-do a 5.5 mile stretch just north of East Tawas on US-23. And they're NOT EVEN DONE YET - they had to call it quits in November and will finish up this spring.

That's less than a mile a month on a mid-size highway.



Deleted User 8570

Re: Gretcholm wants to raise fuel taxes by 45 cents/gallon by 2020

Post by Deleted User 8570 » Tue Mar 05, 2019 9:38 pm

bmw wrote:
Tue Mar 05, 2019 8:49 pm
It took them SEVEN and a half DAMN MONTHS to re-do a 5.5 mile stretch just north of East Tawas on US-23. And they're NOT EVEN DONE YET - they had to call it quits in November and will finish up this spring.

That's less than a mile a month on a mid-size highway.
In fairness they did everything on that stretch except add new bedrock underneath. On the other hand I could never really figure out what all the dirt moving was for nor how seemingly 7 guys were rebuilding the road at any given time...

Whats left to do to it besides smoothing out the bump at the north end? It looks pretty darn done to me...



Deleted User 14935

Re: Gretcholm wants to raise fuel taxes by 45 cents/gallon by 2020

Post by Deleted User 14935 » Wed Mar 06, 2019 6:35 am

How about a 1 percent plan, Let’s call it “The Steve Plan” Everyone pays 1 percent if you get a paycheck you pay 1 percent to the roads, If you get unemployment 1 percent is taken out for roads, If you get Social Security in all forms Retirement, SSDI And SSI you get 1 percent taken out of your check for the roads there’s no exceptions everyone pays, Every time you get paid you will pay one percent, If your a visitor from other countries like Canada You also pay a visitor fee of $10. For every visit at the customs booth just to go to the roads you’re in our country and using our roads so you pay as well. Again no exceptions, This will indeed fix the damn roads in a hurry, What do you think?



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