Poll: Michigan voters favor sales tax hike to fund roads
The Detroit Free Press
May 21, 2013
LANSING — A majority of Michigan voters would favor a one percentage point hike in the state sales tax if the extra money raised went to fix state roads, according to a poll released today by EPIC/MRA of Lansing.
But voters are mostly split on how to raise more than $1 billion a year to fix and maintain the state’s roads and bridges, with more voters in favor of raising the money through spending cuts than through hikes to gas taxes or registration fees, the poll suggests.
And voters are strongly opposed — 72% to only 21% in favor — to the early proposal floated by Gov. Rick Snyder to raise the money through steep hikes to both gasoline taxes and vehicle registration fees.
The live operator telephone poll of 600 likely voters, conducted May 11 through 15, has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. It included 20% cell phone participation.
Several proposals under consideration in Lansing would use a one percentage point hike in the state sales tax to either go directly to roads or to replace School Aid Fund money redirected to roads. Such a plan would require voter approval.
Of those polled, 57% said they would favor a 7% Michigan sales tax if money from the increase went to roads. Another 42% were opposed, while the rest didn’t know or wouldn’t say.
A one percentage point hike in the sales tax would raise just over $1 billion a year, state officials say.
Though a road and bridge funding plan has been mostly stalled in the Legislature, “I think the public is ahead of the Legislature,” and willing to raise the money either through an increased sales tax, or by taking back some of the business tax cuts approved in 2011, EPIC/MRA President Bernie Porn told the Free Press.
Asked generally how to raise more than $1 billion a year for roads, 33% favored doing it mostly or only through spending cuts; 21% favored using mostly or only tax or fee increases; and 22% were undecided or didn’t say. The largest single group — 24% — said they favored raising the money through a balanced approach of cutting spending and raising taxes or fees equally.
A $25 per vehicle hike in registration fees was supported by 46% and opposed by 52%, the poll found.
Increasing fuel taxes by 6 cents per gallon for unleaded and 10 cents per gallon for diesel — so the taxes on the two types of fuel would be equalized — was supported by 33% and opposed by 64%.
Both the registration fees and the fuel tax hikes proposed in the poll are actually lower than those Snyder proposed in his February budget.
Taking back half of the $1.8 billion business tax cut enacted in 2011 through the elimination of the Michigan Business Tax and directing that $900 million a year to roads was supported by 51% and opposed by 34%.
A 10% hike in registration fees for heavy trucks was favored by 72% and opposed by 20%. It was not immediately clear how much money such an increase would generate.
Of those polled, 39% identified themselves as Democrats, 36% as Republicans, and 25% as independent.
