Proposal to increase gas tax in Mississippi is alive, but fate uncertain

Proposal to increase gas tax in Mississippi is alive, but fate uncertain

Legislation is alive in the House to increase Mississippi’s tax on motor fuel to provide additional funds to improve the state’s transportation system.

And House Transportation Chair Robert Johnson, D-Natchez, the author of the legislation, said if that proposal dies in the tax-averse Legislature, he will propose a statewide referendum on the issue.

“It is that important,” Johnson said. “All the states around us are taking action to do something with their roads.”

He pointed out that in 2012 Arkansas voters approved a half-cent sales tax increase that is supposed to fund $1.8 billion in highway improvements over a 10-year period.

Daily Journal vis The Sun Herald
2/10/13