Company-Tax Boost May Be Best U.S. Highway Funding Option
By Laura Litvan May 13, 2014 11:35 AM ET
Temporarily boosting U.S. taxes on companies’ overseas earnings is the most feasible way to provide the additional funding needed to rebuild aging highways and mass transit systems, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said.
Other ideas being considered are falling flat and time is running out to replenish the Highway Trust Fund this year, Foxx said at a Bloomberg Government event in Washington today. Proposals to increase the 18.4-cent-per-gallon gas tax or other fees on drivers can’t clear Congress anytime soon, Foxx said.
President Barack Obama proposed a four-year, $302 billion bill that would raise $150 billion through taxes on overseas earnings and by closing loopholes that would normally let companies defer those obligations. Gasoline and diesel-fuel taxes haven’t kept pace with new projects and the Highway Trust Fund may not be able to meet its financial obligations as early as July, according to the Transportation Department.
“Right now our proposal is the best way to thread the needle and get something done,” Foxx said.
Seeking to accelerate the debate, Obama is scheduled to travel tomorrow to New York to discuss U.S. infrastructure needs near the 58-year-old Tappan Zee Bridge, which was designed to last just 50 years and is scheduled for a $3.9 billion replacement.
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-05-13/senators-unveil-six-year-u-s-highway-legislation.html
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