NH Gas Tax Increases 4 Cents on July 1

The state gas tax increases by 4 cents a gallon starting July 1 and the revenue raised will fund road and bridge improvements in New Hampshire.

The new law will help complete the widening of Interstate 93 in southern New Hampshire and it also eliminates the Exit 12 ramp tolls on the Everett Turnpike in Merrimack.

Supporters of the bipartisan legislation maintain the state's transportation infrastructure is in desperate need of the funding. This is the first increase in the state's gas tax since 1991 and it will generate $32 million to $33 million a year.

Critics continue to say the state's residents and businesses cannot afford the increase.

"The last thing we need is a 23 percent increase," said Greg Moore, the state director of Americans for Prosperity-NH. Moore is holding a news conference at a gas station in Manchester on June 30 to call attention to the tax increase.

"We want to make sure the people who are responsible for it are held accountable," Moore said.

The provisions for adjusting the gas tax rate to the consumer price index are repealed upon the completion of the bonding for widening I-93. The New Hampshire Department of Transportation has a web page dedicated to the transportation funding and targeted projects.

Sponsors of the bill included Sen. Jim Rausch, R-Derry, Sen. Nancy Stiles, R-Hampton, Rep. David Campbell, D-Nashua, Rep. Candace Bouchard, D-Concord, and Rep. John Cebrowski, R-Bedford.