1. One tenth of 10 of motor fuel taxes is dedicated to the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund; 18.30 of gasoline tax and 24.30 of the diesel tax go to the Highway Trust Fund. (Tax rates on special fuels vary, but average to about 18.40 per gallon.)
2. Based on the average U.S. Treasury and Joint Tax Committee revenue estimates for 2008.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. Ibid.
6. U.S. Treasury Bulletin, July 2008.
7. Idaho Department of Transportation, State-by-state Comparison of Annual Motor Vehicle Registration Fees and Fuel Taxes, 2008 (Boise, ID: 2008).
8. Figure based on Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Highway Statistics 2006 (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Transportation, 2008) for all vehicle registrations and assumed new $1 registration for light vehicles and $2 for heavy trucks. Assumed annual increase of 1.84 percent, which was average annual increase for 1996-2006 in the number of motor vehicles in the United States, per FHWA.
9. Based on FHWA, op. cit. note 8, on number of drivers. Adjusted 2006 figures by 1.28 percent, which was average annual increase for 1996-2006 in the number of licensed drivers in the United States.
10. Analysis based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Table 2 - Estimated Annual Retail and Food Services Sales by Kind of Business: 1992 through 2006, at www.census.gov/svsd/retlann/pdf/sales.pdf.
11. Based on U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2007 Personal Expenditure Data for Motor Parts and Accessories and Lubricants.
12. Figure of $30/ton based on several sources, including Jeffrey Ball, "Bank of America Puts a Price on Carbon" (blog), Wall Street Journal, February 13, 2008, and Point Carbon, at www.pointcarbon.com.
13. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Emission Facts: Average Carbon Dioxide Emissions Resulting from Gasoline and Diesel Fuel (Washington, DC: February 2005).
14. Oil import data derived from U.S. Energy Information Administration, "U.S. Net Imports by Country," at tonto. eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/pet_move_neti_a_epOO_IMN_mbblpd_a.htm.
15. National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP), "Future Financing Options to Meet Highway and Transit Needs," Project No. 20-24(49) (Washington, DC: Transportation Research Board, September 2006), p. 108, estimates that if all states were to impose a 0.5 percent sales tax dedicated to transportation, it would generate an average of $10.5 billion a year over the 2007-17 period.
16. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reports that revenues from personal income taxes were $1,044 billion in 2006, or 8.0 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP). Estimate assumes a 1 percent share of personal income taxes. CBO also reports that revenues from corporate income taxes were $354 billion in 2006, or 2.7 percent of GDP. Estimate assumes a 1 percent share of corporate income taxes. CBO, Letter to Hon. Kent Conrad, Chairman, Committee on the Budget, May 18, 2007.
17. Based on data from American Association of Port Authorities Web site, "U.S./Canada Container Port Traffic in TEUs (2000-2007)," at www.aapa-ports.org.
18. According to a February 2008 report, the Harbor Maintenance Fee generated $1.4 billion in Fiscal Year 2007. Government Accountability Office, Federal User Fees: Substantive Reviews Needed to Align Port-Related Fees with the Programs They Support (Washington, DC: February 2008), p. 15.
19. NCHRP, op. cit. note 15, estimates that customs duties would generate average annual revenue of $1.9 billion at 5 percent, or $3.9 billion at 10 percent.