In addition, the drivers who pay the toll would essentially pay double taxes for highway use and maintenance. North Carolinians already pay a variety of taxes that fund road maintenance and construction. For example, all drivers in North Carolina pay 22 cents tax on every gallon of gasoline they purchase. Our state s gasoline tax, which is the 18 th highest gasoline tax in the nation, accounts for the majority of tax collections for highway maintenance. 1 North Carolinians also pay a sales tax, designated for highway funds, when they purchase a car.
Drivers already pay taxes that fund highway use and construction.
They should not have to pay yet another fee to use North Carolina roadways. If North Carolina policy makers are hoping that toll roads could generate more funds for highway maintenance, they are taking a gamble. The number of drivers using toll roads has sometimes been below projections. The marketing campaign even proposed giving drivers free ice cream, hamburgers, or coffee for taking the toll route. Instead of the 97,000 drivers that were predicted to use the toll road daily, only 49,000 drivers actually use the road daily.