RAISE IT Act

Raise And Index to Sustainably and Efficiently Invest in Transportation Act of 2017 or the RAISE IT Act

This bill expresses the sense of Congress that by 2027 the gas tax should be repealed and replaced with a more sustainable, stable funding source.

The bill amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the excise tax on motor fuels, to increase the rate of tax on:

• gasoline other than aviation gasoline to 26.3 cents per gallon in 2018, 30.3 cents per gallon in 2019, and 33.3 cents per gallon after 2019 and before 2030;
• diesel fuel or kerosene to 32.3 cents per gallon in 2018, 36.3 cents per gallon in 2019, and 39.3 cents per gallon after 2019 and before 2029; and
• diesel-water fuel emulsion.

The bill delays the termination of such increased rates from the end of FY2022 to December 31, 2028, and requires an adjustment for inflation to such increased rates beginning after 2019.

It also: (1) increases allocations in the Mass Transit Account of the Highway Trust Fund in 2018, 2019, and after 2019; and (2) imposes a floor stocks tax on rate increases for gasoline, diesel fuel, and  kerosene (other than aviation-grade kerosene), subject to specified exemptions for exempt uses and low-volume producers.