BOURNE-Republican candidate for the the Massachusetts State Senate Jay McMahon has launched a petition online that takes a stance against the proposed gas tax bill.
McMahon argues that tax increases are not the answer to solving issues with infrastructure. He says that the state’s surplus should be utilized as opposed to raising taxes, which he believes could negatively impact businesses and consumers.
If passed, the bill would increase the gas tax by 5 cents per gallon–9 cents for diesel–and would also end an exemption of the sales tax for rental car companies’ purchases of vehicles. Ride-hailing services would also see increased fees, although the bill’s language is written in an attempt to prevent companies such as Uber and Lyft from directly dumping those extra costs onto customers.
The bill was recently passed by the House, and now goes to the Senate.
The petition can be found here.
McMahon will face off in a special election against Susan Moran on March 31 for the vacant Plymouth & Barnstable District State Senate seat, which was previously held by Vinny deMacedo.
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