Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) Tax

How to Refuel the Highway Trust Fund

Examples from other countries and US states show that well-designed user fees can fund transportation infrastructure effectively.

Sound Tax Policy Can Withstand Creative Destruction

Creative destruction—coined by famed economist Joseph Schumpeter—is the idea that new innovations disrupt and “destroy” existing economic structures as they create better and more efficient products and processes.

Gas Taxes by State, 2025

California levies the highest tax on gasoline at 70.9 cents per gallon (cpg), followed by Illinois at 66.4 cpg and Washington at 59.0 cpg.

Electric Vehicle Taxes by State, 2025

As the market share of electric vehicles (EVs) on the road grows, the gas tax’s ability to fund road projects and decrease traffic congestion erodes. Both federal and state real tax revenue per vehicle mile traveled has been on a steady decline for decades, creating a fiscal gap for road expenditures even as the demand for road infrastructure improvements has grown.

Fixing Highway Funding in the Reconciliation Package

The EV fee in the reconciliation package would help the fiscal situation but would overcorrect the hole in the gas tax base EVs create. There are intermediate options, such as VMT taxes for EVs and commercial traffic or pairing flat EV fees with gas and diesel tax increases, that would be incrementally better than the reconciliation package’s approach.

Road Taxes and Funding by State, 2025

The amount of revenue states raise through roadway-related revenues varies significantly across the US. Only three states raise enough revenue to fully cover their highway spending.

EVs and the Highway Trust Fund: Five Things to Know

While fixing infrastructure funding has not been a focus of the tax expiration debate, it would be a smart way to pay for at least a small portion of the expiring tax cuts. In recent years, highway funding has exceeded highway revenues, and the introduction of electric vehicles has made the gas tax increasingly obsolete.

Expanding User Fees for Transportation: Roads and Beyond

By 2034, the gas tax and other car-related excise taxes are projected to raise less than half of the Highway Trust Fund’s outlays. While broader tax and spending reforms are necessary for overall deficit reduction, improving transportation funding would be a crucial step forward.

Gas Taxes by State, 2024

Though gas taxes are intended to serve as user fees and pollution deterrents, they vary widely across states. How does your state’s burden compare?

Vehicle Miles Traveled Taxes Rollout across States

Gas tax revenues have decoupled from road expenses and have been unable to support road funding in recent years. As such, states nationwide are exploring ways to supplement or replace gas tax revenues.

From Gallons to Miles: Rethinking Road Taxes

Buckle up as we navigate the twists and turns of infrastructure and road funding. As electric vehicles gain traction, traditional gas taxes are running out of fuel to support our infrastructure budget.

Nikki Haley’s Plan to Eliminate the Federal Gas Tax Would Be a Mistake

At the most recent Republican primary debate, former governor and United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley (R-SC) proposed eliminating the federal gas tax to lower fuel prices for consumers.

How Are Electric Vehicles Taxed in Your State?

The state EV taxation landscape reflects the evolving transportation sector and the pressing need to address both fiscal gaps in road funding and environmental concerns.

Gas Taxes by State, 2023

California pumps out the highest state gas tax rate of 77.9 cents per gallon (cpg), followed by Illinois (66.5 cpg) and Pennsylvania (62.2 cpg).

Gas Tax

How Did We Ever Agree to Fund Infrastructure Investments?

As lawmakers explore funding mechanisms for additional federal infrastructure investment, they should focus on permanent, sustainable, and transparent revenue options that conform to the benefit principle. Permanent user fees, appropriately adjusted to restore and maintain their purchasing power, would serve as ideal revenue sources for federal infrastructure investments.

Infrastructure Funding for Highways Digs into Issues of Outdated Taxes and Narrow Bases

As spending priorities are dividing lawmakers trying to negotiate among the various federal infrastructure plans, less time is being spent on the funding of one of the key components—our highways, both current and future taxes and fees. One of the current taxes, a federal excise tax on heavy commercial vehicles and trailers, is an important revenue generator, but its flawed tax design has a negative impact on investment and leads to unstable revenue.

Road Taxes and Funding by State, 2021

Traditionally, revenue dedicated to infrastructure spending has been raised through taxes on motor fuel, license fees, and tolls, but revenue from motor fuel has proven less effective over the last few decades.

Will Pennsylvania Be the First State to Motor Past the Gas Tax?

In Pennsylvania, Gov. Tom Wolf (D) has proposed phasing out the gas tax as the main funding mechanism for the state’s highway fund, and he has established a commission to recommend options for replacing it with alternative revenue sources. In a statement, the governor called the current motor fuel tax burdensome, outdated, and unreliable.

Who Will Pay for the Roads? The Future of Transportation Taxes

What can the U.S. do to raise the revenue needed for infrastructure upkeep and accurately internalize the costs associated with road usage?