As Wisconsin’s Morning News host Vince Vitrano returned from dropping his daughter off at college in New York City, he began to think more about the idea of toll roads. Between Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, just one of those states doesn’t currently have a system of tolls on all or a portion of its freeways.
Hint: it’s Wisconsin.
Vince and Erik Bilstad spoke first with 101.7 The Truth’s Dr. Ken Harris on the subject this morning, who said the state is leaving millions in potential revenue on the table.
“The problem here is Democrats in Madison have never seen a tax they didn’t like.” Harris said Wednesday. “So my fear is we’ll get up to that 20 dollar point on day one, and that’s going to be a problem.”
Wisconsin’s Morning News spoke to fans on the matter as well, who expressed concern about Wisconsin residents paying more over the long haul versus those visiting from out of state, but also optimism that the funding from tolls could offset losses to the state’s gas tax as some drivers switch to electric vehicles.
While the state gas tax still accounts for roughly half of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s annual revenue, electric vehicles have been assessed a 100 dollar annual surcharge since 2018.
