Gas tax to drop, slightly

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By the Lincoln Journal Star

Nebraska’s fuel tax will drop by one-tenth of 1 cent on July 1 — to 27 cents per gallon.

The fuel tax can change every six months based on a formula that calculates the amount of money the state must collect to meet the road budget set by the Legislature.

Through a veto, the governor removed money from the future road budget to assure the gas tax will likely remain around 27 cents.  

The fuel tax is made up of a fixed tax of 12.5 cents per gallon and the variable tax, which changes twice a year. 

Volatile fuel prices affect consumption. So the variable tax was created about 30 years ago to provide stability in funding for roads projects, said Steve Maraman, finance administrator for the Department of Roads.

The state also has a .9 cent per gallon tax to pay for cleanup of leaky underground storage tanks, Maraman said.

A portion of the fixed tax is sent to counties and cities for local road projects, Maraman said.

Nebraska’s road budget is funded by the gas tax and other driving- related taxes, including sales tax on vehicles and registration fees, Maraman said. No general fund tax dollars are used for Nebraska’s road-building and maintenance.