A Bill to generate funding for the prevention of the current environmental crisis through the taxation of gasoline sales and distribution
Sponsor: Pat Leahy 117th Congress
This bill may be hereafter referred to and cited as “Gasoline Taxation Bill 2021”.
Section 1, Definitions:
In the body of this bill, the following terms will have definitions that stray from colloquial usage:
“Personal vehicles” will hereafter refer to low occupancy, privately owned vehicles used mainly for the transportation of people. This term, for the purposes of the bill, does not refer to public mass transit (e.g. buses, trains, planes, etc.), cargo delivery vehicles, or any sea-faring vessel.
“Gas stations” will hereafter refer to any business or organization that is licensed and authorized to distribute any grade of gasoline, as well as diesel. While this definition includes businesses that have a license but don’t distribute fuel, it is not necessarily relevant to such businesses.
Section 2, Statement of Bill’s Purpose and Action:
With the advent of the modern climate crisis, numerous causes have been pinned as contributors to global weather change. One omnipresent cause is the large volumes of carbon generated by personal vehicles carrying minimal numbers of people. Personal vehicles’ benefits to the individual compared to public transit are largely offset by their vast inefficiency when considering their effects on the environment.
This bill seeks to both disincentivize the use of personal vehicles when better options are available as well as generate funding to be used for the combatting of climate change. The bill suggests the imposing of a 2.5% tax on all gasoline and diesel sales in the United States, managed jointly by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the Department of Transportation. This tax shall be collected at all gas stations in the United States, collected at the point of sale on the consumer’s end.
This additional revenue should be split equally between the Department of Transportation and the Department of Energy. The Department of Transportation shall use this additional funding to develop public transportation options in currently underserved areas. The Department of Energy shall use this additional funding to provide for the research and development of promising avenues of environmentally cleaner energies, as well as for the production and development of electrically operated vehicles.
Section 3, Exemptions:
Exemptions to the bill and the tax will be provided based on current regulatory records indicating businesses and transit corporations that transport either mass amounts of passengers or cargo. Gas stations that exclusively serve these groups will be provided case-by-case exemptions through the FERC. Any other group seeking an exemption will go through a similar process through the FERC.
Section 4, Implementation:
The tax previously described in this bill will be implemented in phases over the next twenty-four months. On January 1st, 2022, a precursor tax of 1% on gasoline and diesel sales will be enacted, to be used as previously described. On October 1st, 2022, the tax will increase to 1.5%. On October 1st, 2023, the tax will be finalized to a 2.5% tax on all gasoline and diesel sales.
Any increases, decreases, or other changes to the size or scope of this tax can be amended through current legislation. Further recommendations include increasing the scope of the tax to commercial cargo vehicles and mass transit, as well as distributing the funding to more governmental agencies working in favor of the climate, such as the EPA.