The Star-Ledger: NJ’s Gas Tax Cut in Half When Adjusted for Inflation
media mentionBy Alex Napoliello, May 19, 2014
New Jersey’s gas tax is at an all-time low. That may not be a surprise for those who have been following a recent proposal to raise the tax. But what may be a shock is that the state’s gas tax is almost half of what it was in 1927.
New Jersey is one of ten states where the gas tax has reached an all-time historical low, according to an analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. In nine of these states, the tax that helps pay for road maintenance and expansion is less than it was in the 1920s when adjusted for inflation (in the tenth, Alaska, it’s below the initial 1945 rate). The current tax trails historical averages by at least 17 cents in all ten states, lagging behind by much more in others.