Libertarians against gas tax

Libertarian Party of Madison County chair Corbin Brown was confused when he heard about Gov. Bill Haslam’s gas tax proposal.

Brown said the state’s $800 million-plus surplus makes the proposal unnecessary.

“This is one more way for the government to take which does not belong to them,” Brown said. “It’s our money they are taking away from us.”

Earlier this month, Haslam proposed a 7-cents-per-gallon increase on gasoline to the state’s gas tax and a 12-cents-per-gallon increase on diesel. If approved, it would be the first time since 1989 Tennessee has raised its gas tax.

Haslam said the additional $227.8 million in revenue, generated by the gas tax, would go toward completing transportation projects across Tennessee.

The gas tax proposal was the big issue discussed Wednesday at the Libertarian Party of Tennessee Delta Regional Conference at Samuel T. Bryant Distillery. Brown said the Libertarian Party will head to Nashville on Feb. 13 to speak out against Haslam’s proposal.

The Libertarian Party was founded in 1971. According to their party platform, Libertarians strongly oppose any government interference into personal, family and business decisions. They believe all Americans should be free to live their lives and pursue their interests as long as they do not harm one another.

Libertarian Gary Johnson ran for president of the United States in 2012 and 2016. Johnson received more than four million votes in the 2016 election.

Tennessee has two Libertarian elected officials. Wallace Redd in Clarksville City Council, Ward 4, and Mike Sexton, Union County Commissioner in District 6.

Jesse Fullington is running as a Libertarian for state representative in the 79th District.

Fullington said he wants great roads but raising taxes is not the answer — and Haslam’s tax cuts, a notable one being the grocery tax rate going from 5 percent to 4.5 percent, is not enough.

“When you’re driving, spending more money at the pump, it costs more money to move things around,” Fullington said. “Can you name one thing not transported without fuel? By the nature of raising transportation costs, it’s going to raise the value of the product. So groceries might be cheaper tax wise, but they will be more expensive. It either balances out and hits zero or the increase in the value of the product is going to be more than what the tax was to begin with.”

President and CEO of the Jackson Chamber Kyle Spurgeon said Haslam’s proposal is an opportunity for the issue of infrastructure and transportation to be addressed.

Spurgeon said he will pay close attention to discussion over the next few months.

“You want to make sure you have a good feeling your tax dollars are being spent wisely,” Spurgeon said. “It’s about how our tax dollars can be spent in the wisest manner to give us the most return on our investment on our highway infrastructure.”

The Libertarian Party is clear on their views, but the biggest challenge its facing long-term in Tennessee is visibility and ballot access.

Brown said when the Madison County Libertarian Party started holding meetings last year, he was the only one there — but eventually a handful of people began attending the meetings.

“We are building that base and we’re getting the information out there but it is a slow process,” Brown said.

If the Libertarian Party does not get at least 34,000 signatures in the state of Tennessee before the summer of 2018, all their Tennessee candidates, including Fullington, will have to run as independents during the 2018 midterm elections.

“We’ve got until July 2018 to hit that goal,” Brown said. “It’s not just about face-to-face. It’s social media. This is our main goal. Anything else we want to do rests upon that foundation.”

Reach Omer Yusuf at oyusuf@jacksonsun.com. Follow him on Twitter: @OmerAYusuf