The North Carolina Senate Republicans have released a budget proposal that includes several measures to increase available transportation funding in the state. These include:

  • Raising the maximum tax that can be charged for commercial and residential vehicles to $2,000 by January, and to $3,000 by July of next year, generating an additional $11 million in state revenues
  • Increase the highway use tax cap paid by people moving their cars to North Carolina from out of state from $150 to $250, generating an additional $3.2 million a year
  • Eliminate a motor fuel tax refund for taxi cabs, retaining $185,121 per year
  • Move $6.7 million from administrative and other agencies to increase funding for construction, road maintenance and pavement preservation

If passed, these measures would increase state transportation revenues by about $15 million. While farmers and automobile dealers are opposed to the measures, taxes on vehicle sales will remain among the lowest compared to North Carolina’s neighboring states. North Carolina’s highway use tax currently collects $600 million a year in revenue. The 2014-2015 budget estimates a total of $1.2 billion in revenue for the state Highway Trust Fund.