In Louisiana, we understand the need for oil to be at a certain price. When the price of oil is at a certain economic level a lot of our people are at work. When the prices fall below those levels, that's when the oil and gas economy of Louisiana suffers. So, I don't think in the Bayou State we mind paying a little more for gas, but what we might mind is paying a higher tax on the gas we need to buy.

Republican lawmaker Jack McFarland will sponsor legislation supported by a coalition of contractors and others to raise the tax on gas purchases in Louisiana during next year's session of the Louisiana Legislature. McFarland suggests that the tax is necessary because the state currently has a $14 billion dollar backlog of road and bridge repairs that are currently hanging in limbo.

Currently, you and I pay 38.4 cents in taxes with every gallon of fuel we purchase. The proposed increase would mean that for every gallon of gas we purchase, 60.4 cents of the purchase price would go to satisfy the taxman.

You might recall a similar attempt to raise gas taxes that failed in the legislature back in 2017. At that time many elected officials felt that the state's motorists did not have the appetite to stomach an additional tax on fuel.

However, almost all of us would agree we need to fix our roads and bridges. We are either going to pay for it with higher fuel taxes or by having to spend more to repair our cars from driving on poorly maintained roadways. It certainly is something that needs to be talked about and discussed instead of being simply dismissed as "another tax on the backs of Louisiana's working people".

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