{"id":118936,"date":"2021-03-30T00:13:39","date_gmt":"2021-03-30T00:13:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/?p=118936"},"modified":"2021-03-30T00:13:39","modified_gmt":"2021-03-30T00:13:39","slug":"bidens-infrastructure-plan-will-avoid-hiking-gasoline-tax-vehicle-miles-fee-cabinet-official","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/markets\/bidens-infrastructure-plan-will-avoid-hiking-gasoline-tax-vehicle-miles-fee-cabinet-official\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden's infrastructure plan will avoid hiking gasoline tax, vehicle miles fee: Cabinet official"},"content":{"rendered":"
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on Monday the White House will not propose hiking gasoline taxes or a new vehicle miles traveled (VMT) fee to pay for a proposal to massively boost infrastructure spending.<\/p> Buttigieg told CNN a vehicle miles traveled fee is \u201cnot part of the conversation about this infrastructure bill.\u201d Buttigieg has previously spoken about the idea of a VMT but has acknowledged it faces challenges regarding privacy and technology.<\/p>\n He also told CNN a gas tax hike is not under consideration.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to reiterate the president\u2019s central commitment here. If you\u2019re making less than $400,000 a year, this proposal will not involve a tax increase for you,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Earlier, the White House said President Joe Biden will outline on Wednesday how he would pay for his $3 trillion to $4 trillion plan to tackle America\u2019s infrastructure needs, a proposal likely to include tax increases first laid out on the campaign trail.<\/p>\n Congress has not boosted the 18.4-cents-per-gallon federal gasoline tax since 1993.<\/p>\n The federal government has abandoned a decades-old policy of largely using fuel tax revenue to fund infrastructure repairs.<\/p>\n Since 2008, Congress has transferred $154 billion to the Highway Trust Fund, including $13.6 billion in the current budget year. Congress failed again last year to approve a multi-year surface transportation bill and instead passed a one-year extension that expires on Sept. 30.<\/p>\n Some lawmakers think a VMT makes sense in order to collect road repair funds from electric vehicles that currently do not pay federal gas taxes.<\/p>\n U.S. Representative Peter DeFazio, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, told Reuters in a recent interview that adopting a vehicle miles-traveled fee to pay for infrastructure before the Sept. 30 highway funding deadline is not realistic.<\/p>\n \u201cThe president has a plan to fix the infrastructure of our country … and he has a plan to pay for it,\u201d White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters on Monday.<\/p>\n