Washington Gov’s “Not A Tax” costs taxpayers a bundle

By Lars Larson,
NW and national radio host

Crazy carbon rules created here in the Pacific Northwest rarely help anyone or anything, including the environment.

But there may be a tiny bit of good news in Governor Jay Inslee’s latest madness.

Technically it’s not a new tax. But you won’t be able to tell that when you roll up to the gas pump and it sucks your pockets dry.

It’s called a “carbon offset fee” and it adds 58 dollars to every ton of carbon in the fuel produced by refiners. They’re going to pass that along and the math shows it will jack up the cost of every gallon by 46 cents.

Crazy Jay Inslee claims it will save the planet.

It only went into effect three weeks ago and already it’s pushed up prices 25 cents a gallon. The rest of the rise will come in the weeks ahead.

We can already see higher prices in Washington than its neighboring states.

And that’s where I found one tiny silver lining…more customers for gas stations in Idaho and Oregon. Imagine that…green Oregon helping out carbon refugees from the Evergreen state.

It won’t take long for folks in Clark County to figure out that gas in Portlandia, just across the river, is almost half a buck less. And Spokanites only have to drive a few miles to the state line of Idaho for cheaper gas.

And be ready for all the naysayers. They tell you “it’s not a tax”.

Call it anything you want. Gas tax or Carbon Offset Fee…your wallet can’t tell the difference.