A 10-year extension of the fuel revenue tax index in Clark County was approved by the Clark County Board of County Commissioners during its Nov. 18 meeting.
The fuel revenue tax index is a system in which gasoline taxes directly increase alongside inflation to ensure roadway and other transportation projects have a similar level of spending power year-over-year.
During the last fiscal year, the tax collected 23 cents/gallon. In turn, this raised roughly $1B, which funded more than 700 roadway infrastructure projects in Southern Nevada.
Additionally, the funding generated from the program has allowed local entities to utilize $3B in project funding via bonding and federal grant matching. The tax was implemented in 2014.
The Regional Transportation Commission said the program is a key component of providing the region with enough funding to adequately take care of its transportation infrastructure.
The extension of the system comes with the passage of Assembly Bill 530, which was signed into law this past May. Originally, the tax increase was scheduled to end in 2026.
Opponents to the passage of the extension say the tax unequally affects lower-income residents.
Supporters of the bill noted that cash flow for roadway funding would slow from more than $300M annually to roughly $100M by 2030.
Each year has an annual cap of four cents. The last fiscal year saw the indexed portion of the tax increase by 2.9 cents. Last fiscal year, the tax was expected to generate 14% of the RTC’s budget, or $160M. (Source)
