Dive Brief:
- New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed a 23 cent per gallon hike in the state's gas tax last week in order to finance the state's transportation projects, ABC News reports.
- The tax hike is set to go effect Nov. 1 and will help fund the state's expired transportation trust fund. Governor Christie had halted all transportation projects in July following the fund's expiry, but rescinded the order last week.
- In contrast to the gas tax, the Governor cut both sales and estate taxes in the state. New Jersey voters will decide on Election Day whether proceeds from the gas tax should only be applied to transportation projects.
Dive Insight:
Gas taxes are a common method for funding infrastructure projects, but New Jersey's low gas taxes had earned it the status of a fuel haven along the pivotal Northeast Corridor, which made the roughly $50 in tolls per heavy trucks more bearable.
The hike, however, comes just as shipments are about to ramp up throughout the nation, and may hurt fleet managers who rely on the Lehigh Valley for transportation.
Once the tax goes into effect, Rhode Island, Maryland and DC will have lower taxes than the garden state, according to data from the American Petroleum Institute. Routes are unlikely to adjust, however, since the state's taxes remain lower than those in neighboring Pennsylvania or New York.
