A conservative think tank is weighing-in on the issue of a possible gas tax increase. They say if there is a hike to the tax then they want state leaders to offset that increase by cutting taxes somewhere else.
Greg Lawson with the Buckeye Institute said there is merit to the gas tax since revenue is strictly tied to infrastructure projects.
Lawson said maintaining the state’s roads and bridges is an important function of government.
“This is an area where the government does need to spend some money is in the transportation area," he said. "It doesn’t seem unreasonable for us to look at some of the areas that the government probably doesn’t need to be spending much money on.”
He suggested cutting the income tax or the main business tax, the Commercial Activities Tax, or closing the state’s many tax loopholes.
Gov. Mike DeWine said the state is facing an impending crisis if $1 billion in extra transportation revenue, on average annually, isn’t raised over the next ten years.
