VIGO COUNTY, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — The tax Indiana motorists will pay on a gallon of gasoline will continue to rise.
According to INDOT, fuel taxes including the gas-use tax, gas excise tax, and special fuels tax makeup over 80% of INDOT’s funding. The gas-use tax funding is deposited into the State Highway Fund (IC 8-23-9-54) and the Motor Vehicle Highway Account (IC 8-14-1-1). These two funds are the primary funding mechanism for almost all state projects.
Motorist Andrew Schultz said when he is filling his tank, taxes aren’t on his mind. “When I’m at the pump, honestly, that’s the last thing on my mind. Usually, I’m like, ‘Oh, you know, this price.'”
The tax will impact many people across the state, like those who regularly commute.
“I feel like the taxes don’t really get used for the roads and to fix the roads, how they ought to be getting used,” said Eli Vance, a student who commutes via I-70 from Mooresville to Ivy Tech in Terre Haute.
A 12-million-dollar resurfacing project will soon be affecting traffic along I-70 through the Terre Haute area.
This porting of I-70 last resurfaced over ten years ago in 2012.
Vance feels the current condition of I-70 does not reflect the amount of tax he pays at the pump.
“I’m hoping that after they finish the construction, that it’s going to look like it matches up with the prices we’re paying for gas,” Vance said.
Beginning April 1st, the tax drivers pay on a gallon of gasoline will go up, again. The Indiana Department of Revenue said that the state’s gasoline use tax will climb 0.4 cents to a total of 19 cents per gallon.
The gasoline-use tax is based on the state’s average price of a gallon of gasoline from the previous month. The average retail price per gallon is multiplied by 7%, Indiana’s State Retail Tax, and then rounded to the nearest one-tenth of a cent.
According to the Indiana Department of Revenue, the tax is distributed to the motor vehicle, highway account, the local road, and bridge matching account, special transportation flexibility fund, state highway fund, and state general fund.
Prices in Indiana are 18.4 cents per gallon higher than a month ago and stand 78.4 cents lower than a year ago.
“Times are changing. That’s all I got to say about that,” Vance said. “Times are changing.”
To stay up to date with the latest closures, road conditions, and traffic alerts visit the INDOT West Central Facebook page here.
