The Taxpayers Legaue of Minnesota

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 5, 2007

Contact: Phil Krinkie

(651) 294-3590 ext 202

Over 80% of State Fair Respondents Opposed to Gas Tax Increase

The Great Minnesota Get Together finds most Minnesotans don’t want to pay more at the pump

ST. PAUL – In a survey of people who visited the Taxpayers League booth at the Minnesota State Fair, 82% of respondents said they were opposed to a gas tax increase of any kind.

At the Taxpayers League booth in the Grandstand, visitors were asked if to fill out a postcard addressed to Governor Pawlenty that allowed them to choose between raising the gas tax by 10 cents, raising the gas tax by 5 cents, or not raising the gas tax at all.

Of the almost 2000 responses, an overwhelming number opposed a hike in the gas tax; with less than 14% favoring a tax increase of any kind.

“This unscientific survey demonstrates again that the majority of Minnesotans remain opposed to any gas tax increase even in the weeks after the 35W bridge collapse,” said Taxpayers League of Minnesota President Phil Krinkie.

Continued Krinkie: “Survey after survey and year after year the majority of Minnesotans have consistently opposed raising the state’s gas tax. Yet in the face of this near-constant public opposition, liberal legislators in St. Paul continue to push for higher taxes on gas which today already costs citizens over $3 per gallon. Hopefully Governor Pawlenty will listen to his constituents and refrain from raising the tax on gas.”