Minnesota State Road Taxes in 2030: Will revenues keep pace with inflation?
The future adequacy of Minnesota road funding is evaluated in a 27-year forecast of current law road taxes (motor vehicle registration tax, motor vehicle sales tax, and motor fuels excise tax). Revenue projections are compared with inflation-adjusted base costs in three economic growth scenarios (Trend, Optimistic, and Pessimistic), using two price deflators (core-CPI and state/local government costs). The Trend scenario predicts road tax revenues will lose purchasing power to inflation by 2020, but over the forecast period cumulative revenues and costs nearly balance out. According to this scenario, current tax policy can support 2003 service levels into the future, but not fund system improvements. The Optimistic scenario forecasts a surplus in purchasing power in all 27 years, providing the opportunity for significant new spending without changing current law. Under the Pessimistic scenario, tax revenues fall short of inflationary costs by 2012, with the annual loss in purchasing power reaching $1 billion by 2030. In this scenario, road tax policy changes are needed to avert significant declines in road service.
THE ECONOMIC COSTS OF FUEL ECONOMY STANDARDS VERSUS A GASOLINE TAX
Some Members of Congress and public interest groups have recently proposed raising the corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards for automobiles. Proponents of CAFE standards see them as a way to decrease the United States' dependence on oil and its emissions of carbon dioxide (the predominant greenhouse gas). In this study, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates the costs that raising CAFE standards would impose on automobile producers and consumers. This study also extends previous research by examining the potential cost savings from instituting a system in which producers could trade "fuel economy credits." Under that system, producers with high costs of complying with CAFE standards could meet the new standards by applying credits bought from producers that exceeded the standards. CBO also compares the costs of CAFE standards with those of a higher gasoline tax, an alternative policy for reducing gasoline consumption. Finally, CBO examines the available evidence on whether changing CAFE standards or the gasoline tax could improve social welfare, a general measure of society's well-being that includes not only the value derived from the goods and services that people consume but also factors that diminish the quality of life, such as pollution and traffic congestion.
TRANSPORTATION ENERGY DATA BOOK: EDITION 22
This book is a statistical compendium prepared and published by Oak Ridge National Laboratory under contract with the Office of Planning, Budget Formulation, and Analysis, under the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy program in the Department of Energy. Designed for use as a desk-top reference, the data book represents an assembly and display of statistics and information that characterize transportation activity, and presents data on other factors that influence transportation energy use. The purpose of this document is to present relevant statistical data in the form of tables and graphs. The latest editions of the Data Book are available to a larger audience via the Internet (www-cta.ornl.gov/data). This edition of the Data Book (edition 22) has 12 chapters which focus on various aspects of the transportation industry. Chapter 1 focuses on petroleum; Chapter 2 - energy; Chapter 3 - greenhouse gas emissions; Chapter 4 - criteria pollutant emissions; Chapter 5 - transportation and the economy; Chapter 6 - highway vehicles; Chapter 7 - light vehicles; Chapter 8 - heavy vehicles; Chapter 9 - alternative fuel vehicles; Chapter 10 - fleet vehicles; Chapter 11 - household vehicles; and Chapter 12 - nonhighway modes. The sources used represent the latest available data. There are also three appendices which include detailed source information for some tables, measures of conversion, and the definition of Census divisions and regions. A glossary of terms and a title index are also included for the readers' convenience.