NASHVILLE – A conservative group hopes to siphon off would-be support for a gas tax increase in Tennessee’s Legislature this year with a 60-second radio spot targeting comments by Gov. Bill Haslam that he may still pursue a boost this session.
Americans for Prosperity-Tennessee’s ad calls any tax increase “illogical.”
“We will fight a gas tax increase in Tennessee for as long as necessary,” AFP-Tennessee director Andrew Ogles said in a statement. “This ad is intended to inform taxpayers in our state about why a gas tax hike costly and unnecessary.”
The group isn’t saying how much it’s spending to air the spot. It criticizes any fuel-tax increase and seeks to tie discussions to Tennessee’s $1 billion budget surplus.
Haslam says the surplus is in the state’s general fund, which is derived mostly from sales and business taxes and pays for most state government functions other than transportation.