Bill Ritter and U.S. Congressman Bob Beauprez both want to fund transportation but they differ as to the their funding approach, according to the Denver Post. From the article, "Gas taxes traditionally have paid for the bulk of road work, but better fuel economy, the growth of alternate-fuel vehicles and even the curtailment of driving because of high gas prices have reduced tax proceeds. When final accounting is done, Colorado expects to collect about $514 million in taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel in the fiscal year that ended June 30. That would be down about 7.2 percent from the previous year. Republican candidate Beauprez says he would replace the state's 22 cents-a-gallon tax on gasoline by boosting the state sales tax by 0.77 percent. He pegged the sales tax increase at that amount to make it 'revenue neutral' and bring in the same amount of money as the current gas tax.
"Linking transportation funding to the sales tax instead of the fixed, per-gallon gasoline tax would allow the state's kitty for roads to increase as the economy grows, Beauprez said in a recent interview. 'We've got a declining funding mechanism and an increasing need' for highway money, he said. Colorado officials estimate the state will need an extra $59 billion over the next 25 years just to maintain current transportation service levels.
"Ritter, the Democratic candidate in the Nov. 7 election, pans Beauprez's approach to transportation funding, saying the sales tax hike will not produce any substantial amount of new money for road construction and repair. Ritter said he would appoint a blue-ribbon panel on transportation finance in the early days of his administration to recommend ways of closing the funding gap."
Category: Denver November 2006 Election
10:26:03 AM 
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