Poll: Majority Of Hoosiers Support Gas Tax Hike

More than half of Indiana residents in a recent survey say they support the recent gas tax increase approved by state lawmakers.

The latest results from the annual Hoosier Survey – now in its 10th year – show about 57 percent of the 600 people polled approve of the 10-cent per gallon tax increase passed earlier this year. That hike was part of a $1.2 billion dollar-a-year road funding package that also includes increased registration fees at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles that will take effect in January.

Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Sen. Michael Crider (R-Greenfield) – one of the road funding bill’s sponsors – says he’s heard positive feedback since the measure passed. And he says the comprehensive package sets the state up well for future transportation needs.

“We gave ourselves the opportunity really to have discussions where we’re not in crisis mode but we can really say, ‘OK, we’ve got some extra here that we can maybe focus to one of these problems,’” Crider says. “So it was a good move.”

Self-proclaimed fiscal conservative groups like Americans for Prosperity opposed the road funding bill’s tax and fee increases. And most Democrats – and a few Republicans – voted against the measure.