Bipartisan infrastructure bill could lose gas-tax rise |
A proposed infrastructure spending plan may be hammered out without a measure raising the gasoline tax, a key Republican lawmaker said Sunday, suggesting the removal of an obstacle to a nearly $1tn infrastructure plan pushed by a bipartisan group of lawmakers. Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), one of the lead Republicans in the group, said a higher gasoline tax may not be in the final package, citing opposition from the Biden administration. “But the administration, therefore, will need to come forward with some other ideas without raising taxes,” he said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday. In addition to measures to raise the gas tax by indexing it to inflation and charging fees on electric cars, the draft of the plan proposed increasing funding at the IRS to collect more taxes owed, creating public-private partnerships, and repurposing existing federal funds to pay for the plan. The White House has opposed indexing the gas tax to inflation and charging fees to electric vehicles to raise revenue for the plan, instead proposing that additional revenue come from enhanced IRS enforcement, according to a person familiar with the talks.