GOP pushes for petition against gas price increase [New Britain Herald]

Article as it appeared in the New Britain Herald

Monday, June 24, 2013 10:41 PM EDT
By SUSAN CORICA
STAFF WRITER

BRISTOL — A statewide push by Republican legislators to get people to sign a petition against a scheduled increase in Connecticut’s overall gasoline tax came to Bristol Monday.

State Sen. Jason Welch (R-Bristol) and State Rep. Whit Betts (R-Bristol) were at the Citgo Quik Mart on Farmington Avenue asking for signatures to rescind the petroleum gross receipts tax increase.

Welch said they were getting an “excellent response.”

“Not just here but everywhere you go in the state of Connecticut, people are just outraged, not only at the fact that the tax is going to go up but the fact that the money that is going to be gained by this tax isn’t going to fix our roads and bridges, it’s just going into the general fund,” he said.

After about 15 minutes at the gas station they had gathered four signatures, but Welch said statewide over 7,000 have signed so far.

At the same time, their fellow Republican members of the state senate and house of representatives were out collecting signatures at gas stations at a number of other towns in the state as well.

The petroleum gross receipts tax is a percentage of the wholesale price of gasoline. It is charged to companies distributing petroleum products in Connecticut.

The tax is scheduled to increase 16 percent on July 1 to a total of 8.81 percent.

The tax is on top of the regular 25 cents per gallon state gas tax and the 18.4 cents per gallon in federal gas taxes. The increase in state funds is supposed to go to the state transportation fund starting July of 2015.

Betts said the petition had a dual purpose – to educate the public about why gas prices will go up next week and to get people to push their legislators to do something about it.

State Democrats have said the increase was approved years ago and without it there would be less money to balance a budget that was projected to be in deficit.

The new tax is predicted to generate about $60 million more for the state.

The petition is also available online at www.axethegastaxct.com.