An Arkansas lawmaker has proposed tapping into tax revenue from car sales and imposing a new tax on motor fuels to raise money for the state's highways, combining two approaches that have faced significant opposition in the predominantly Republican Legislature.
Republican Rep. Dan Douglas filed a bill Monday that he said he hoped would start the conversation on highway funding, which legislative leaders and Gov. Asa Hutchinson have called a priority for this year's session.
Douglas' proposal calls for gradually diverting tax revenue from vehicle sales to highways over a four-year period, hitting a maximum of $120 million a year. The transfer would begin once Arkansas' gross sales tax revenue exceeds $2.5 billion. It also calls for imposing a 3.5 percent sales tax on the wholesale price of motor fuel.
