Letters: Raise gas tax in a smart way

Most people would agree that the best taxes are the ones paid by someone else. The best thing that can be said for taxes is that they are necessary.

But we need to increase our revenue for roads, which have become crowded, full of potholes and unsafe. The result is increased accidents (and higher insurance rates), long traffic jams and damage to our cars. These problems must have an effect on whether corporations move to our state.

To increase our taxes with minimal effect on our citizens, we should follow the lead of Florida and other tourist-oriented states. Hospitality taxes should be maximized. Fuel taxes must be raised, but in a manner that helps our citizens — for example, have a disproportionate increase during the April-October tourist season or collect higher gas taxes from counties along the coast (with an offset on other taxes to compensate local citizens).

Our state has problems that only money can fix. Let’s fix our state with necessary taxes, but do it intelligently.

This story was originally published April 17, 2016 at 5:46 PM with the headline "Letters: Raise gas tax in a smart way."