Deficit panel recommends gas tax hike

Deficit panel recommends gas tax hike    The United States should raise the federal gasoline tax by 15 cents per gallon to help stabilize the government's fiscal situation, a deficit-reduction commission appointed by President Obama said Thursday.
   The National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform also called for raising the Social Security retirement age and reducing scheduled benefit increases, limiting a range of tax breaks, and cutting the Pentagon budget and farm subsidies — all of which immediately caught fire from all sides of the political spectrum.
   Many transportation experts have recommended increasing the gas and diesel taxes, at least as a short-term measure until the country can transition to a system that better captures more revenue from fuel-efficient vehicles.
   A recent transportation policy report by the University of Virginia, co-chaired by former transportation secretaries Norman Mineta and Samuel Skinner, endorsed earlier calls for a fuel tax increase. The National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission, chartered by Congress, early last year said the diesel tax should be raised by 15 cents and the gas tax by 10 cents, with some of the diesel receipts going to a dedicated freight infrastructure fund. Previously, the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Commission called for a 40-cent increase in the gas tax over five years.
   The Highway Trust Fund is in the red because fuel tax receipts are not keeping up with obligations to states for highway improvements. Congress has had to transfer $35 billion from the general fund to the HTF during the past two years to keep highway aid flowing. ' Eric Kulisch