Cleveland County GOP Chairman speaks out on gas tax increases!
From the desk of Wes Westmoreland, Chair, CC GOP

In politics, memories seem short. This year, Ohio ended corporate income tax and reduced property and other taxes. North Carolina raised taxes and imposed new taxes, totaling well over $1 billion. Just two weeks ago, Copeland announced that they would close in Shelby and move their operation to Ohio. I wonder if Walter Dalton, Bob England and Governor Easley will make the connection. If so, they have a chance to act.

North Carolinians are facing an automatic tax increase, this time on gasoline, effective January 1, 2006. This increase will add another 3 to 5 cents per gallon to what North Carolinians already pay for gas, bringing the total tax to around 32 cents. Currently, NC has the third highest gas price in the nation.

The net loss to the families and businesses in the state- already struggling under high gas prices- could be $250 million dollars.

North Carolina's gasoline tax is comprised of 17.5 cents per gallon fixed base rate plus a variable tax rate based on the wholesale price of gasoline. The current rate is 27.1 cents. There is a floor, but of course, there is no ceiling. The variable amount is adjusted every six months. Based on recent record gas prices, the variable tax is expected to increase at least 3 to 5 cents per gallon.

Republican Senator Phil Berger, along with other Republicans including Representatives Debbie Clary and Tim Moore, has called on Governor Easley to convene a special session of the General Assembly to consider a reduction in NC’s gasoline tax. They have called on the Governor and members of the General Assembly to support a 7.1-cent cap on the variable gasoline tax rate, a ceiling figure representative of the December 2004 rate.

So far, it appears that the Democrats will continue their precedent of raising taxes and spending other people’s money. It seems that the Democrats simply don’t care about yet another tax increase. The Governor’s first comments suggested that with a cap on the increase, the state would not have the funds necessary to build roads. However, the budget for the highway fund was based on pre-hurricane gas prices, so the State stands to reap an unexpected windfall on the backs of her families and businesses because of the recent spike in gas prices. It seems that, after increasing taxes by well over a billion dollars already this year, the state should not add another quarter billion dollar cost to the families of this state, especially when the State’s bloated budget doesn’t require or even include it.

If politics had a memory, Democrats would remember one of their major arguments for passing a lottery, all of the states around us have one. They would note neighboring states levy gasoline taxes much lower than the Tarheel state. SC’s state tax is 16 cents; Virginia's state tax is 17.5.  Other Southeastern states are considering reductions in their state gasoline tax rates as well.

The Governor and Democrats like Walter Dalton and Bob England have opposed previous efforts to cap the variable tax rate. Surely they now recognize that they can no longer ignore the burden that high gas taxes are placing on North Carolinians. Surely, we as a state can recognize the correlation between high tax rates and the loss of businesses and jobs.

Senator Dalton and Representative England, please join Representatives Clary and Moore in supporting a cap on the gasoline tax.