Some of you may have read the news about the need for County Council to hold a public meeting to re-authorize the 8.8 cent per gallon county tax on gasoline, which has been in place since 1988.
I have no problem keeping the current 8.8 cents, but I am absolutely opposed to any increase. In fact, I don’t think the County Council should even discuss an increase, as I believe there are other ways to raise the needed money to build and repair roads.
If you oppose an increase to the gasoline tax, then please support my position at the meeting, which is scheduled for 6 p.m. on March 11 in Kona. You can read more about the issue here: http://www.westhawaiitoday.com/articles/2008/02/07/local/local02.txt
There are many other ways to fund road repairs. Any increase in the gas tax would hurt the most rural areas of our island most. Communities like Pahala, Ka`u and Ocean View have to truck in gas, and that makes fuel much more expensive.
In general, raising the gas tax is unfair because our citizens have to drive much further than anyone else in the state. People from other islands do not drive as much as we do, or fill up their cars as much as we do, or buy as much fuel as we do. So of course our gasoline tax should be the lowest in the state! We already pay the highest gasoline taxes in the nation, and there is no justification for any increase.
Stacy Higa
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