On Saturday, July 1, Gov. Haslam's IMPROVE Act will go into effect, addressing a $10.5 billion backlog in repairs and updates by prioritizing 962 projects across all of Tennessee's 95 counties.
The IMPROVE Act creates a long-term, dedicated funding source to fix Tennessee's outdated transportation infrastructure by making a modest increase to the user fees for its roads and bridges while containing the largest tax cut in the history of the state.
A 4-cent increase on gasoline will be offset by a series of tax cuts, including:
- Grocery tax cut savings
- Manufacturers business tax reduction
- Property tax relief for eligible elderly and disabled homeowners and service-disabled veterans
- Hall income tax cuts
"The IMPROVE Act's slight increase to the user fees for our roads is offset by the law containing a 20 percent tax cut on food. As a result, people will save more at the grocery store than they pay at the pump," said Susie Alcorn, executive director of the Tennessee Infrastructure Alliance. "Gov. Haslam's IMPROVE Act is the fiscally responsible and balanced way to address our transportation infrastructure needs."
The IMPROVE Act also includes a local option for the twelve most populous counties to hold their own referendums for tax increases to fund local transit needs.
Additional Details on IMPROVE Act:
- New registration fee of $100 for electric vehicles beginning July 1, 2017, in addition to the standard registration fee
- Registration fee for passenger motor vehicles will be increased by $5
- Registration fee for commercial motor vehicles for transporting passengers for hire (buses, taxis) will be increased by $10
- Registration fee for commercial and freight motor vehicles (semis, tractor trailers) will be increased by $20
- Sales tax on food will be cut from five percent to four percent beginning July 1, 2017
Gas Tax Increase Schedule:
- Regular Gas Tax From $0.20 to $0.24 from July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018
- Regular Gas Tax From $0.24 to $0.25 from July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019
- Regular Gas Tax From $0.25 to $0.26 from July 1, 2019 and after
- Diesel Tax From $0.17 to $0.21 from July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018
- Diesel Tax From $0.21 to $0.24 from July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019
- Diesel Tax From $0.24 to $0.27 from July 1, 2019 and after
- Compressed natural gas tax From $0.13 to $0.16 from July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018
- Compressed natural gas tax From $0.16 to $0.18 from July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019
- Compressed natural gas tax From $0.18 to $0.21 from July 1, 2019 and after
- Liquified gas tax From $0.14 to $0.17 from July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018
- Liquified gas tax From $0.17 to $0.19 from July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019
- Liquified gas tax From $0.19 to $0.22 from July 1, 2019 and after
Read MORE details on the IMPROVE Act HERE
Source:
The Transportation Coalition of Tennessee
