Gov. Scott Walker
If federal lawmakers pass an infrastructure funding plan that requires the state to pay some of the costs, Governor Scott Walker says he would be willing to look at raising gas taxes to help access those funds.
However, Walker’s position on the conditions that must be met in order for him to approve a gas tax hike have not changed. Namely, any increase would have to be offset by a tax cut in some other area.
“Any talk of revenues has got to be tied to a reduction in taxes somewhere else,” Walker told reporters during a stop in Madison Thursday morning.
The governor threatened last year to veto gas or vehicle registration fee hikes in the state budget, if lawmakers included any without tying them to a corresponding tax cut. Walker has insisted that he’s held that position for the past four years, and this is no different.
President Donald Trump in his State of the Union address earlier this week proposed spending $1.5 trillion on infrastructure improvements. Walker said he hopes that Congress would stick with the typical formula of having the federal government contribute about 80 percent of the funding for projects, with the states picking up 20 percent of the costs. “My hope is that they don’t flip everything around,” Walker said.