Fire departments, city police departments, and public works departments all depend on cars and trucks and gasoline to get their job done. For both the quality of life and safety of Racine County, I hope that none of these services is forced to cut back because of the impact high gas prices have on their budgets. The extra money needed for gas this year has to come from somewhere. One way to make up for the increase is to cut back on vital programs and direct that our patrol squads drive less, the other way is to raise taxes. Neither of these are good options.
Businesses pass cost increases to consumers.
In my business, the consumers are the residents of Racine County and increased costs are passed down through tax increases. From a personal perspective, I think it is unfair that local taxes should have to increase to pay for more expensive gas because of new Federal regulations, such as the EPA s reformulated gas mandate. In my view, it is double taxation. As an individual, not only am I paying more for gas because of EPA regulations, but I am paying more in local taxes to support those essential community services that must also pay higher gas prices. On a separate note, I think it is important to note that the State of Wisconsin excise tax on motor vehicle fuel is 26.4 per gallon.