Lawmaker proposes gas tax holiday
(AP) - With gas prices at about $2.70 a gallon in Minnesota on Tuesday, a Republican lawmaker is proposing that the state temporarily lift its 20-cents-a-gallon gas tax to help relieve pain at the pump.
Rep. Paul Kohls, R-Victoria, has introduced a bill that would suspend collection of the tax for six months, starting July 1. "Minnesotans are getting squeezed at the pump and there's no end in sight," Kohls said, adding that the timing would benefit summer travelers.
Currently, gas tax collections go into the state's highway user trust fund, which funds road construction. Kohls' proposal would replenish the highway fund with $317 million from a state account that collects surplus dollars for tax relief.
House Republicans had proposed using the tax relief account to pay for property tax rebate checks to homeowners. But with that proposal finding little favor in the DFL-controlled Senate, Kohls said his proposal is an alternative way to get some tax relief to Minnesotans.
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The tax relief fund is suited to a temporary relief measure, he said, since it's one-time money that can't be used for permanent tax cuts.
Last week, House Democrats on the Taxes Committee were joined by two Republicans in approving a 6-cents-a-gallon gas tax increase. But that's not expected to stick, and Kohls predicted that if he can get his proposal to the House floor it would pass with wide bipartisan support.
Rep. Mary Liz Holberg, chairwoman of the House Transportation Finance Committee, said she could support the gas tax suspension as long as the money comes from the tax relief account and not the highway fund.
"I know I'd like to see the tax relief account used for tax relief of some sort," said Holberg, R-Lakeville.
Steve Dahl, the owner of the St. Paul Conoco station where Kohls held a press conference to tout the proposal, was lukewarm to the idea. While he said he'd prefer gas tax relief to property tax rebates - "it will reach more taxpayers," he said - Dahl said a temporary suspension wouldn't do anything to get at the underlying causes of high gas prices.
"It's a nice short term fix," Dahl said. "But in the long term it's not going to do anything about our reliance on traditional energy sources."
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
