Gunnison Valley News | 1929-06-13 | Page 4 | The War on High Gasoline Taxes

THE WAR ON HIGH GASOLINE TAXES. The automobile industry, through its successful efforts to eliminate the excise tax on motor vehicles, saved motorists over $100,000,000. Now the petrolium industry, by aiding ctizens in the war on exorbitant exorbi-tant gasoline taxes, hopes to save the driving public at least $150,000,000 yearly. Last year the gas tax paid in the United States totaled $300,000,000, according to an estimate by the bureau bur-eau of Public Roads. This year the aggregate is expected to reach $450,-000,000, $450,-000,000, a 50 per cent increase. It is said that the tax now paid averages av-erages around 25 per cent of the filling fil-ling station price of gasoline. This is out of all proportion to the cost cf fuel. The worst of the situation is that the tax is steadily increasing. Many legislatures apparently consider consid-er it a painless and easy means of extracting, ex-tracting, money from the public. Every state now taxes gasoline. The minimum tax is two cents, the maximum which has just gone into effect in South Carolina, is six cents. In the latter state a motorist whose car runs 12 miles to the gallon pays a toll of one cent for every two miles he travels, in gasoline taxes alone. When any tax becomes exorbitant, the public will rebel. There is no excuse ex-cuse for riding a willing taxpayer to death.