Get ready to pay more at the pump.
A 5 cent per gallon increase in the gasoline tax is going into effect across Virginia beginning today.
Almost two years ago, the General Assembly passed a sweeping transportation bill allocating billions toward road construction in the coming years. Part of the funding for the projects was to come from sales tax money collected from online merchants.
The bill assumed Congress would pass a law requiring the merchants to collect the tax, replacing the current system where citizens in most states — including Virginia — are required to pay sales tax for online purchases while filing taxes.
But Congress has not passed the law, triggering a backup clause in the bill that jacks up the gasoline tax to help shore up the missing money. If the law is passed by Congress, the tax hike will be rolled back.
The increase sends the gasoline tax from 11.1 cents per gallon to 16.2 cents per gallon, where it will remain until Congress passes the law, known as the Marketplace Fairness Act. The bill passed the U.S. Senate in 2013, but has since remained in stasis in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The increase comes as gas prices continue to tick down. AAA, which tracks average gas prices, announced last week that prices have declined for 88 straight days, the longest streak on record. The average price for a gallon of gasoline in Virginia was $2.16 per gallon as of Dec. 31.
The tax increase does not affect the diesel fuel tax, which remain at 20.2 cents per gallon.
The transportation law is projected to bring billions of dollars to Hampton Roads in the coming decades. Money generated by the law has already been put toward widening a segment of Interstate 64 in Newport News, and more money from the law is expected to be allocated to widening the road to three lanes on both sides to Lightfoot.
