To the editor:

Among the briefs in the Feb. 26 Daily News was reference to two options proposed by our governor to raise money for roadway maintenance.
One of those options is a 45-cent-per-gallon gas tax.  The other is a two-cent increase in sales tax.
I’m already so sick of paying Big Oil’s executive bonuses, I would personally reject Option 1 without hesitation.
I also don’t like paying more taxes of any kind, but if the addition of two cents on the dollar to our current sales tax rate is the only other option offered, that would be my preference. Do the math.
In the same way I would prefer a National Sales Tax as a replacement to our ludicrously complicated and unfair federal income tax, state sales tax is collected based on personal purchasing.
It follows that those who buy more, pay more.
And unless you are into buying a new car or other high-ticket item every year, the average citizen would pay less in added sales tax than they ever would in gas tax.
While it may seem more logical to pay for road maintenance with a tax associated with road use, according to my estimates, an increase in sales tax would be more financially friendly to the average taxpayer.

Lois Karasek
Dowagiac