Residents Speak Out Over Proposed Increase Gas Tax - WMDT 47 News - Delmarva's Choice

WMDT 47 NEWS - Monday, a Maryland House panel approved Governor Martin O'Malleys proposal to raise new revenue for transportation projects, by increasing the state's gas tax. Governor Martin O'Malley's plan to raise new revenue for transportation projects, could mean digging into the pockets of Marylander's filling their tanks.

Local drivers say they can't afford any more pain at the pump.

"It's already high enough, people are already struggling you know," local resident Jeffery Lauere tells us.

"If no body can afford to drive on the roads what's the point in having good roads," resident Sean Porter adds.

Supporters of the proposal say Maryland hasn't raised the states 23.5 cent per gallon gas tax since 1992, and the state needs to keep it's transportation system competitive with neighboring Virginia. According to the governors blog, it would support more than 8,800 jobs each year over a five-year period.

Consumers aren't the only ones concerned about the proposed increase on the gas tax. Businesses like Thirsty's on Route 13 in Delmar are so close to the Delaware state line, they fear customers will go to the first state to fill up their tanks.

"If we raise the gas prices also I don't think I'll be able to survive. I'm right on the border line and I'm not talking about just me," owner Khurshid Ahmad tells us.

The House Ways and Means Committee voted fifteen to four in support of the bill Monday. Their proposal would mean there would be a 1% tax on gasoline, implemented July first.