Why not a gas tax?

A 10-CENT hike in the gas tax would raise more than $300 million in revenue, and yet the tax rate would still be 5 cents less than it was in 1990 after adjusting for inflation. Given that gas prices rise and fall on their own by more than this almost weekly, it's unlikely anyone would notice, yet if they did, they would drive less, which is good for the environment.

Instead, we are going to impose a significant financial burden on a small subset of commuters in order to raise just $100 million in revenue to help pay for the debt on a new road that they, among all commuters, specifically don't use. As a result, some commuters are sure to abandon the toll road in order to clog alternate routes, which would be bad for the environment, waste hours of residents' time, and ultimately increase maintenance costs on those roads. This proposed toll hike is hence both preposterously stupid and enormously unfair.

Eric M. Van
Watertown

TOLL HIKES on the Mass. Pike and at the Ted Williams Tunnel (Page A1, Nov. 15). Traffic jams on the arteries leading to the Big Dig (Page A1, Nov. 16). What's a commuter to do?

A research project funded by the University of New Hampshire and the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy points to part of a solution. Raise the state gas tax by a substantial amount - say, 50 cents a gallon - and then refund any extra tax revenues in equal shares to owners of registered motor vehicles in the Commonwealth. The higher pump price would encourage motorists to trade in their gas guzzlers sooner, eliminate unnecessary trips, and eventually move closer to their jobs. The refund would protect the after-tax income of the average motorist. (Someone driving a Focus or Corolla a reasonable number of miles annually would come out ahead.)

The New England states import all of the refined petroleum products consumed in the region. Why not tax this import more heavily and refund the extra revenues to motorists so that they can increase their purchases of locally produced goods and services? The regional economy would receive a boost from a tax-and-rebate plan.

Richard W. England
Durham, N.H.
The writer, a professor of economics at UNH, is visiting fellow at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.