Saturday, January 26, 2013

MoDOT pushes for sales tax increase to rebuild highways

Missouri's Transportation Commission chair has proposed Missouri shoppers pay an additional one cent in their sales taxes for 10 years to fund state highway maintenance and construction.

Rudolph Farber, chair of the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission, called for more transportation funding Thursday, Jan. 24, during a conference of the Missouri Chamber of Commerce.

The 10-year tax increase would generate an estimated $7.9 billion. Ten percent of that revenue would be used for local transportation needs in cities and counties.

Earlier the same day, Missouri Department of Transportation Director Kevin Keith told senators that interstate updates were vital for Missouri's economy.

"If we're going to win, it's not just tax policy, but it's growth of the economy," Keith said, while testifying on a bill in front of the Senate Ways and Means Committee.

That bill, sponsored by Sen. John Lamping, R-St. Louis County, would increase the state's sales tax by one half percent and dedicate the new revenue for construction and maintenance of Interstate 70.

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