Utah Surrenders on Taxing Idaho Drivers for Gas

I guess we’ve avoided the Battle of Tremonton, for now.  Plans by some Utah politicians to essentially tax Idaho drivers for gasoline have been shelved.  This was a classic case of someone not thinking through the consequences of an idea.  If you don’t know the background, Utah has a high fuel tax.  For a place known as a red state, it has some liberal quirks.

Maybe Think Before Opening Your Mouths

Some Republicans are looking to provide relief at the pumps.  Instead of calling for a tax reduction, they suggested oil companies pay a bigger share of taxes.  Which most economists would tell you would be passed on to the consumers.  So the geniuses behind the proposal suggested it be affixed to fuel sent out of state.

Idaho has a dearth of refineries, and much of our fuel comes from Utah.  As you can imagine, this didn’t go over well among politicians in Boise, who share a culture and know a lot more about football than anyone in the Beehive State.  There was talk of retaliation.  Not actual warfare, that’s an exaggeration, but there’s a lot of trade across state lines.  Idaho State Police often fill up patrol cars in Snowville, as the pumps there are closer when patrolling mountain passes.

This Could've Been Ugly

Not everyone in politics is an abject simpleton, but this exercise demonstrates how good intentions can often be disruptive.  I guess in this case, the road paved to hell was Interstate 15.  The Utah legislators behind the original proposal now plan to actually think through a bill before rushing to grandstand for votes.