LANSING ? Michigan House Speaker-elect Kevin Cotter said Monday if the gasoline tax is going to be “greatly” increased, then the sales tax should be taken off of fuel, and he believes it can all be accomplished during the next three weeks.
Cotter (R-Mount Pleasant) said if the House is going to approve a dramatic increase in the gasoline tax, like setting an eventual 15.5 percent tax on the wholesale price as passed by the Senate in HB 5477 , then the 6 percent sales tax currently charged on fuel should be scrapped.
“I don’t think it’s fair to the public. I don’t think much of the public knows that the sales tax, as long as fuel is $3 or more, is more than the tax that is going to roads,” he said.
Cotter acknowledged that there would be a hole in the budget for local governments and education that would need to be filled, but he said if the Legislature remains focused, it can get done by the end of the term.
“I’ve seen a lot of things (pass) in a short period of time,” he said.
Cotter said he used to work for transportation companies, and he said semi-trucks avoid buying fuel in the state because the price is generally higher, in large part due to the sales tax.
He said if the Legislature does not finish road funding this term, he would like to bring it up again first thing next term when he will lead the House Republican caucus.
However, he said he hopes it gets done before the end of the year, and the solution is ongoing.
