--- title: Lower Gas Prices Could Bring Higher Gas Tax | TIME description: With gas prices at their lowest point in four years, politicians want to capitalize on an opportunity to raise gas taxes to offset costly, but necessary infrastructure repair around the nation. canonical: https://time.com/video/sH0vuaUz/ og:title: Lower Gas Prices Could Bring Higher Gas Tax og:description: With gas prices at their lowest point in four years, politicians want to capitalize on an opportunity to raise gas taxes to offset costly, but necessary infrastructure repair around the nation. og:url: https://time.com/video/sH0vuaUz/ og:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/sH0vuaUz/poster.jpg?width=720 og:type: video.other twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Lower Gas Prices Could Bring Higher Gas Tax twitter:description: With gas prices at their lowest point in four years, politicians want to capitalize on an opportunity to raise gas taxes to offset costly, but necessary infrastructure repair around the nation. twitter:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/sH0vuaUz/poster.jpg?width=720 --- # Lower Gas Prices Could Bring Higher Gas Tax > Sponsored content. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ## Video: Lower Gas Prices Could Bring Higher Gas Tax [Watch (HLS stream): Lower Gas Prices Could Bring Higher Gas Tax](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/sH0vuaUz.m3u8) (2:08)  _Published 2014-12-08. With gas prices at their lowest point in four years, politicians want to capitalize on an opportunity to raise gas taxes to offset costly, but necessary infrastructure repair around the nation._ --- Jul 27, 2023 5:37 PM UTC --- ## More From This Series [All Videos](https://time.com/video/) [Why Gas Prices Could Spike in This Part of the Country](/video/GfLfqR9T/) ### Why Gas Prices Could Spike in This Part of the Country [Falling Gas Prices Could Reach 2009 Lows](/video/wIHrh2Xt/) ### Falling Gas Prices Could Reach 2009 Lows [Why Gas Prices are at Lowest in 4 Years](/video/E6FNkVX8/) ### Why Gas Prices are at Lowest in 4 Years --- ## Transcript The drop in gas prices nation wide could reverse, as politicians cry for more tax on petroleum and explain why the US can't afford to wait. The timing seems right for the move. First the federal gas of $ 0. 18 a gallon hasn't budged. Since 1993. And second, gas prices are at the lowest they've been in years, with some parts of the country inching toward $ 2 a gallon, and in one instance passing that threshold. Politicians like former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell explain profits from a gas tax would go directly to improving a crumbling US infrastructure. Something he says costs drivers around $ 800 a year to compensate for poor roads. A gas tax along the Corker Murphy, the bill that's been proposed, would be $ 0. 12 adjusted for inflation. Say that cost the average driver $ 130 a year. They would get a return on that investment. Not to mention, striking a deal now means the nation pays the money for these repairs up front instead of making future generations pay off the debt. However, it seems likely, not everyone on Capital Hill will want to talk about taxes. President Obama has notoriously opposed several gas tax increases, and instead tried to close up corporate loopholes to funnel more money into transportation. According to a New York Times editorial Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner also hesitates to increase taxes because of campaign promises. The Times explains where this leaves the nation. People of both parties ride in cars or take trains and buses, but they are being let down by politicians pretending that essential public works don't come with a price tag. No party has given a hard stance on tax in light of gas pricing's sharp downturn. However, those not afraid to ask for an increase include Congressman Tom Petri of Wisconsin. He's currently sponsoring a bill to move the federal gas tax up to $ 0. 33 a gallon by 2016. He told the Huffington Post last year, of those choices, it seems to me that the most responsible long- term approach is to do the thing that is unpopular but necessary. Analysts expect the national average for gas to reach as low as $ 2. 94 this year, 70 cents lower than it was in 2012. ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Lower Gas Prices Could Bring Higher Gas Tax","description":"With gas prices at their lowest point in four years, politicians want to capitalize on an opportunity to raise gas taxes to offset costly, but necessary infrastructure repair around the nation.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/sH0vuaUz/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-12-08T18:48:52.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/sH0vuaUz.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/video/sH0vuaUz/","duration":"PT2M8S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/video/sH0vuaUz/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}} ```