South Bend Officials Call for Braun to Suspend Gas Tax

Earlier this week I went back in the archives to March 9th, when the governor of Indiana was asked about the gas tax. And when you ask Braun a question, he’ll talk for nine minutes and tell you absolutely nothing. If you’ve noticed this, you know what I mean. You really have to push him to answer the question. His goal in interviews is to filibuster until there’s only time for two or three questions. If you don’t stay on him, you won’t get an answer. That’s because he doesn’t take positions. He talks out of both sides of his mouth. You can’t pin him down, and that’s intentional. Back on March 9th, at the start of the conflict with Iran, gas was $3.48 a gallon. Braun said that if things weren’t better in two and a half to three weeks—and if the Strait of Hormuz hadn’t reopened—he would consider suspending the gas tax. Well, it’s now March 27th. That’s 18 days. We’re closing in on three weeks and already past the two-and-a-half-week mark. So earlier this week we asked: when are you going to do it? Gas is now over $4 a gallon in many places. That’s $0.52 higher than when Braun made the statement. So put up or shut up. When are you going to suspend the gas tax? Of course he’s not going to answer that, because he has no intention of suspending the gas tax. Indiana is addicted to revenue, and that’s why we have one of the highest gas taxes in the nation. Do you think someone proposing $6.5 billion in tolling—essentially tax increases—is going to willingly give up gas tax revenue? Of course not. Braun does this all the time. He says something in the moment for publicity and hopes people forget about it later. So we’ve been trying to hold him accountable on this. And it looks like the message is starting to spread. WSBT, the big station in South Bend, ran a story about it. Two South Bend Democratic City Council members—Oliver Davis and Sherry Bolden-Simpson—sent a letter to Braun urging him to follow through on what he said and temporarily suspend the gas tax. In their letter they wrote that Indiana drivers are facing rising costs at the pump, with the state gasoline excise tax currently at 36 cents per gallon. Quick reminder: we actually have two taxes on gas in Indiana. There’s the excise tax specifically on gasoline, and then there’s the sales tax on top of that. That’s the real scam. The government benefits when gas prices rise because the sales tax is calculated based on the price of the fuel. The higher the price goes, the more tax revenue they collect. The council members wrote that while they understand the importance of funding infrastructure, the economic pressure on Hoosier households requires immediate relief. They also said the current tax burden at the pump is making it difficult for many working families in the South Bend area to afford commuting to work and transporting their families. And that’s exactly the point. The problem is that it shouldn’t matter what the price of gas is. The gas tax itself is predatory. It’s a regressive tax. It punishes people for going to work. It punishes people for taking their kids to school or daycare. Republicans chose this tax because they know people have to drive. It’s the same reason they target property taxes—because people have to live somewhere, whether they own or rent. Braun made a statement, and we should hold him accountable for it. Maybe, just maybe, when he goes on one of these big terrestrial stations, someone will ask him about it. I know it’s easier to laugh, take photos, and avoid asking tough questions. But someone should. He’s already past the window he laid out.