In every state I’ve looked up, a majority of roadbuilding and maintenance funds don’t come from gas taxes. Not even close.
It can be hard to tease out since, contrary to belief, gas taxes end up mixed with the general fund in most cases. If you look at total road expenditures against gas tax revenues, drivers don’t come close to paying for the road infrastructure they use.
Note: This isn’t a comment on whether drivers should fully fund roads, or if it is perfectly fine given the external benefits of a robust road network. It is simply a comment about real numbers vs perception.
True, gas taxes don't pay for it all, but it's easier than saying: "Whatever mix of stuff the place you're living in does/will use that may include gas taxes plus other taxes but their commonality is that they are largely unrelated to your particular choice of where to drive."
Either way, the point is that there's a conflict between the demands of "never charge me an extra cent" versus "don't poke your nose into my business."
My point is that gas taxes don’t even cover a majority of it. US roads are paid for out general funds, and pretending that they are paid for out of gas taxes exclusively, or even in a majority is dishonest.
Any argument that argues that gas taxes are a use tax for the road is dead in the water.
It can be hard to tease out since, contrary to belief, gas taxes end up mixed with the general fund in most cases. If you look at total road expenditures against gas tax revenues, drivers don’t come close to paying for the road infrastructure they use.
Note: This isn’t a comment on whether drivers should fully fund roads, or if it is perfectly fine given the external benefits of a robust road network. It is simply a comment about real numbers vs perception.