At 25 mpg, I estimate the federal government’s 15-cent tax per gallon proposal will add 0.6 cent per mile. If you drive 20,000 miles a year, not unusual for commuters, the personal cost will be $120 a year. That’s more than many of the property tax levies (that got turned down last election) would have cost homeowners.
Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., plans to introduce this bill. He should look at his own state of Oregon. We don’t like sales tax approaches because it lands so disproportionately on the poor.
Put the tax on imported petroleum only. Give American producers a leg up.
Wayne Mayo
Scappoose, Ore.
