A new Loras College Poll has found a majority of Iowans support an increase in the state gas tax. Nearly 54 percent of those surveyed said they would tell their legislator to vote for a ten-cent hike in the state fuel tax. Political science professor Christopher Budzisz, rhymes with mud miss) is director of the Loras College Poll and he says all 12-hundred Iowans who were surveyed voted in the 2014 General Election.
The Loras College Poll found support among independents and among Democrats for an increase in the state tax on each gallon of motor fuel sold in Iowa. Among Republicans, nearly 49 percent opposed the idea, while over 45 percent supported the tax hike. Those who identified themselves as “Tea Party” Republicans were the only segment of those surveyed who registered the strongest opposition to a gas tax increase.
Other polls have shown a majority of Iowans oppose a gas tax increase. The most recent Des Moines Register “Iowa Poll” on the subject was conducted last February and found 58 percent of Iowans oppose a ten-cent hike in the state fuel tax
Iowans for Tax Relief commissioned a poll in early January which found nearly 78 percent of Iowans oppose an increase in the gas tax. A majority of those surveyed by the anti-tax group said there’s already enough money to build and maintain Iowa roads and bridges. Americans for Prosperity, another conservative group, announced it is launching a lobbying effort to try to stop a gas tax hike. Americans for Prosperity’s state director says the state should find a “long term solution” that reforms that way road and bridge projects are financed in Iowa.
