By Nikita Biryukov
New Jersey’s gas tax will rise by 2.6 cents on Jan. 1 because of a new law that raised revenue targets to pay for the state’s transportation infrastructure, Treasury officials announced Monday.
This year’s annual increase will bring New Jersey’s combined gas taxes to 44.9 cents per gallon, up from 42.3 cents, while total taxes on each gallon of diesel will rise from 49.3 cents to 51.9 cents.
“We are pleased that this dedicated funding stream continues to provide billions of dollars across the State to support our critical transportation infrastructure needs,” said Treasurer Liz Muoio.
Revenue from New Jersey’s gas taxes is dedicated to the state’s transportation trust fund, which pays for infrastructure investments in roads, bridges, and other projects.
The increases are due mostly to a bill Gov. Phil Murphy signed in March that reauthorized the trust fund’s bonding authority and raised the gas taxes’ revenue targets by roughly 18% over five years, increases that lawmakers said were expected to add about 2 cents to the levy annually.
The law adds roughly $84 million to the gas taxes’ roughly $2 billion revenue target each year of the phase-in, and gas tax rates automatically adjust to meet those goals based on fuel demand each year. The taxes’ revenue targets are set to increase by $418 million over the entire five-year phase-in.
Gas tax rates rise if fuel consumption falls, and they decline if demand for gasoline or diesel rises. Officials forecasted demand for fuel in the current July-to-June fiscal year would rise by 0.6% over the prior fiscal year.
New Jersey charges two separate gas taxes. The Motor Fuel Tax charges a fixed rate of 10.5 cents per gallon on gasoline and 13.5 cents per gallon on diesel.
The Petroleum Products Gross Receipts Tax adjusts annually to meet revenue targets. Its per-gallon rates will rise to 34.4 cents for gasoline and 38.4 cents for diesel on Jan. 1.
Credit: NJ Monitor
