Tax to fund bridge and road work.
A new law raising taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel drew
divided reactions from Iowa’s small business owners.
The 10-cent a gallon tax increase is part of a larger plan that
will help repair Iowa’s aging bridges and roads. Iowa hadn’t seen a gas tax
increase since 1989, and 27 percent of the state’s major urban roads are in
poor condition, the Des Moines Register reported.
Nancy Miller, co-owner of Quality Cobbler in Muscatine, Iowa,
sees both sides of the issue. For safety reasons, she wants Iowa to tend to its
infrastructure.
“We do need to have the roads and bridges fixed because I don’t
want to be on one that goes into the river,” Miller says.
A higher tax could also keep locals from heading to the Quad
Cities or Iowa City to do their shopping, she says, which would help her
business.
However, she expects the gas tax to have an impact on her
freight costs, since her business relies on receiving shoes from manufacturers
and shipping orders to customers all over the country. In addition, Miller says
the higher tax might place Iowa at a competitive disadvantage.
“It puts us a little higher than the other states around
us. You lose your competitive edge when your prices are higher.”
The
hike raises Iowa’s state gas tax to 32 cents per gallon. Minnesota’s gas tax is
28.6 cents, while Illinois’ is 30.72 cents and Nebraska’s is 26.5.
For Delia Meier, who runs Iowa 80 Truckstop in Walcott, Iowa,
her main concern is the rise in the diesel tax.
“Diesel fuel is a business-to-business transaction, so it’s
very price sensitive,” she says. “So 10 cents is a huge jump. It’s a 50 percent
increase—from 22 cents to 32 cents.”
Meier says the “wildly unfair” changes would create a chain
reaction of increased expenses that other business owners will have to pay.
“When they say 10 cents is not very much, and it’s only $100
per person who drives the car, it’s a lot of money for the businesses that are
the major tax collectors for the state of Iowa,” Meier says.
