Trump Adviser Supports Raising Gas Tax to Pay for Infrastructure

One of President Trump’s advisers says he supports hiking the federal gasoline tax to help pay for new roads and bridges — a politically fraught issue that Congress has avoided for years.

Richard LeFrak, a real estate developer leading a new White House council to vet infrastructure projects, told CNBC on Wednesday that he is “in favor” of increasing the gas tax, which hasn’t been raised in over 20 years.

The federal fuel tax is currently 18.4 cents per gallon of gasoline and 24.4 cents per gallon of diesel fuel. "You'd be leveling it to where it would have been had they adjusted it for inflation in 1993," he said. "If they did adjust it for inflation ... it actually would produce tens of billions of dollars to annual revenue that would be reinvested.”

But LeFrak also acknowledged that cars are becoming increasingly more fuel-efficient and that a hike in the gas tax would hurt lower-income Americans more than the wealthy.

“That’s just one source of revenue,” LeFrak said. “It’s not the only source of revenue.”

More from The Hill.