Legislature Primed to Pass Gas, Again:

The Iowa legislature in it’s unabashed and usual zeal is in the process of laying yet another tax on the citizenry. This time people are being asked to pony up in the form of an added gasoline tax. As if the Gas prices aren’t high enough already they’d be only to happy to add to our misery, all in the name of fixing our broken infrastructure.

However, before this momentous occasion occurs we think the pols should take a long hard look at possible alternatives to raising revenue. We’re speaking of people who are currently using our roads and bridges but not paying their  share to maintain them. We’re speaking of the farmers of Iowa. If farmers were made to license their tractors and implements that use the roads there'd be enough money to take care of all the Iowa Infrastructure problems.

Consider: Farmers already get reduced prices in their gasoline purchases, they don’t pay the same price at the pump (cause the pump is on their land) as you and I do. Farms maintain a large container for gasoline on their property (500-1000 + gal.) which is used to refuel their farm vehicles, but we suspect is also used in such things as family cars, snow vehicles, motorcycles, etc.  Surely many farm kids drive their vehicles to school and fill up at the “home” gas station. This gas is purchased at a reduced price and is also free of sales taxes collected by the State. So apparently the farmers are feeding at the public Trough (pardon the pun ) but not paying their fair share in taxes. Incidentally, farmers don’t just use their tractors in the field. we’ve seen Many “Tractorcades” rolling on Iowa Hwys and through towns several times a year. These present a clear danger to traffic and we predict that it’s just a matter of time where there’ll be a bad accident.
 

Heres an observation about the problem from the Cedar Rapids Gazette.

                                                                               Cedar Rapids Gazette Dec 4, 2010
"Farmers are exempted from paying tax on fuel used in their equipment. It seems fair they contribute more to the public infrastructure they use. Perhaps a fee on heavy equipment that beats up roads and bridges.
Meanwhile much bigger heavier farm equipment rumbles over many roads and bridges never designed to carry such heavy loads. Load limits are posted on Rural Bridges but too often ignored.Vehicles for farming get bigger. Farmers no longer confine their operation to internal movement (between fields). There's a lot more loading and hauling with Tractor-Trailer rigs."

Most Farms in Iowa are incorporated which allows them to take advantage of certain tax loopholes. However many mega farm corporations are making millions in Iowa and to ask them to license their farm vehicles is, we believe, reasonable.

This possible solution was broached to a legislature once while he was a guest on a local talk show in Cedar Rapids, his reply was "it's just always been that way" (no license for farm vehicles) DUH what kind of answer is that. Lot’s of things have “always been that way”, that’s why we have Government, to change them.

Another recently elected legislature from the Marion area replied to our e-mail: ”You bring up an interesting idea. But no, I would not be willing to tax farm tractors and other implements. I am a farmer's daughter and look at this as a matter of proportion... meaning, some (not all) farmers move their implements on roads most frequently in the fall and spring. Their road mileage is much less than the average car, truck or semi that travels urban roads more frequently. Farmers already license their cars, pickups, grain trucks and semis.”

To this we replied: “While we applaud your allegiance to your farm roots we feel however, your reasoning is skewed. We don’t believe that licensing of Motor Vehicles in Iowa is based on the amount of time the vehicle is used on the roads & highways. We feel that licensing was implemented as a source of revenue and an instrument to help facilitate safety and law enforcement. To use your reasoning a person (Farmer or city dweller) who used their vehicle once a week to drive to the store for groceries should not be made to license their car.”

Incidentallyl, we’ve found no record in the Iowa Code specifically exempting tractors & farm implements from registration or licensing. If it’s not there why hasn’t law enforcement cited tractors, etc while traveling on roads?

An e-mail was sent to Gov. Bransted and all legislators asking their opinion and if they’d be willing to back a law to license tractors & implements. Needless to say they all ignored the idea. And 99% of them didn’t even bother to reply. Not surprising since many of them are either farmers or get contributions from the Farm Bureau or Wealthy Agriculture interests in the State for their re-election.

Let’s get real, and make everyone pay their fair share to maintain Iowa’s roads and bridges.