Idaho gas tax revenue down as driving declines

The Associated Press • Published July 18, 2008 Idaho motorists cutting back on trips to save money on gas means less money that the state Transportation Department collects from the 25-cent-per-gallon fuel tax. "We've definitely noticed a difference, but we can't quantify it yet," Mel Coulter, a spokesman for the department, told the Post Register. The state already faces a projected $240 million annual shortfall in transportation infrastructure funding. Attempts failed in the last legislative session to raise the state's gas tax and increase vehicle registration fees to pay for repairing roads. "I used to go to town to have something to do, and now I don't," said Mac Taylor of how gas that costs $4 a gallon has caused him to make fewer trips to Idaho Falls, about five miles from his home. He's also driving his wife's more... [read full story]