By WHITNEE ICE
St. Joseph Post
Missouri lawmakers passed a gas tax this Spring that should bringing more jobs and revenue for local laborers.
This is the first gas tax increase in a quarter-century.
Local 579 Business Manager Jason Estes says this tax increase will provide more jobs for laborers.
“There’s all kinds of decaying roads and bridges all over the state of Missouri and this should create thousands of good family wage jobs for men and women in construction all over the state not just in my area but all over the state of Missouri,” Estes tells St. Joseph Post.
Estes says this will be the first increase to Missouri’s gas tax since 1996.
“This gas tax is going to be a 2.5 cent increase every year until it reaches 29.5 cents a gallon in 2025,” says Estes. “It is currently at 17.5 cents a gallon and it’s the second lowest in the nation.”
Estes says this bill won’t only create jobs but it will also generate significant revenue.
“The bill is expected to raise more than $400 million in revenue every year and up to a half a billion dollars by 2027,” says Estes.
Local 579 represents more than 300 laborers in 15 counties in northwest Missouri and northeast Kansas.