"Could" Raise Gas Tax?

Only a Democrat legislator could believe this line of crap.

Democrats tweaked Doyle's proposal to allow gas companies to pass on the tax at the pump if they wanted. Rep. Jennifer Shilling (D-La Crosse), author of the proposal, said they could not increase the price of gas more than 4 cents a gallon.

"This is legally defensible," Shilling said. "It still will generate $260 million for our transportation infrastructure. We will have a stable funding source for investment in this budget for transportation projects."

Wisconsin's gas tax is 32.9 cents a gallon, one of the highest in the country. But the oil company tax would be separate from that, and companies would have to decide independently if they were going to pass on the tax, Shilling said

Two things:

1) Belling noted that the proposed tax was actually larger than four cents/gallon. He may be wrong. More likely, Ms. Shilling is being deceptive. Belling's number works out to 5.68 cents/gallon.

If it is 5.68 cents/gallon, Wisconsin will have the country's third-highest gasoline tax.

2) "IF" they will pass on the tax? Of course they will. Shilling (an apt name) is playing the usual political game: force a cost increase, then blame the company for passing it along.

However, Ms. Shilling has made it clear: taxes are paid ONLY by consumers. This happens to apply to "corporate" income taxes, fees, licenses, --whatever. When the State or Feds raise the cost of doing business, the people who pay the price are consumers.

No one else.