Do you want to pay an extra 88 cents per gallon of gas? The proposal on the table is an excise tax that will add an additional 88 cents per gallon of gas and an additional 1.02 per gallon of home heating oil, diesel and similar increases on propane and natural gas when fully implemented.
This proposal has been debated for the last three years and is set to become a major effort by the 2017 legislature after this year’s elections. That means, unless we ask our legislative candidates what their positions are now, they will go into 2017 feeling free to levy this tax with our blessing. It is important to note that in 2014, Rep. Tony Klein, (then chair of the house energy committee) said in an interview that “it’s at least a three year process,” and that you don’t pass a massive tax increase in an election year.
A lot of legislators want to pass this tax and they think 2017 is the target year because the next election is two years away so when the tax is fully implemented we will be left to wonder why we suddenly are paying so much for heating our homes, driving our cars and equipment and vehicles we depend on daily to make a living.
All incumbent Addison County senators, representatives and their challengers are well aware of the issue and need to tell us all whether they support this punishing tax on all Vermonters.
Ivan St. George
Vergennes