The tax-increase flavor of the month, is the gas tax. Some legislators, including some Republicans, for years have called for a gas tax increase as a means of funding road and bridge repair. These same Republicans, and their Democrat allies, of course always have voted against proposals, like the half a dozen that I have authored or cosponsored in the last few years, to use the money that we actually have on hand to fund our roads. Now they, including Governor Haley, have a new scheme; raise the gas tax now and in return the promise of future decreases in the income tax. Many of you remember Wimpy in the old Popeye cartoons who would “gladly pay you on Tuesday for a hamburger today.” Well, Wimpy never paid up, and you likely never will get your income tax reduction.

Governor Haley’s scheme relies upon certain levels of your money coming into Columbia to trigger income tax reduction. If those levels aren’t met, say during the natural cycle of economic downturns, you don’t get the tax reduction. Notice that I didn’t say the gas tax also doesn’t rise. The gas tax increase is on autopilot, the income tax decrease… we’ll just have to wait and see. We have all seen this before, and I know that you’re not fooled, and I’m not either. The most troubling aspect of this proposal, though, is that we have Governor Haley advocating for a tax increase after she advocated against it. Governor Haley could not have been more adamant, especially when she was asking for your vote last year, that she will veto any gas tax increase. But now she supports a gas tax increase as part of a bigger scheme, and you just need to trust that the scheme will work. Folks, this doesn’t have to be this complicated. We have plenty of money in Columbia, especially if we stop expanding Medicaid with every surplus dollar that comes through the door, and the only thing that I will support is using the money that we have to fix our roads. I hope that enough conservatives will stand with me to fight off yet another tax increase.