A Democratic delegate is floating a budget compromise with moderate Republicans outside the conference committee negotiations. The plan does NOT raise sales taxes or the income tax but purports to raise $1.16 billion by:
*Increasing tobacco taxes 25 cents
*Increasing the gas tax six cents
*Doubling the car licensing fee
*Eliminating sales tax exemptions for businesses except the airline and shipping industries (using more conservative revenue estimates than the House budget claims)
On the other side of the ledger, the plan would:
*Increase the threshold for filing income tax from $7,000 single/$14,000 married
*Increase per dependent income tax exemptions from $800 to $1,000
The half-cent sales tax that now is dedicated to transportation would go into the general fund.
The transportation fund would be replenished with the gas tax increase.
Editor’s Note: This post was edited after posting.