Dayton walks back from gas sales tax

Turns out DFL Gov. Mark Dayton is not fully on board with a gasoline sales tax after all.

Dayton said during a debate in Moorhead last night that he will make a “specific proposal that will include a sales tax on gasoline” next year, if he’s re-elected. The statement stood out as a significantly more definitive level of support for the revenue source than any previous comments he’s made on transportation funding.

But today, Dayton and his campaign were backtracking.

“The question asked for a specific, and I didn’t phrase my response very well,” Dayton said during a news conference today on an unrelated topic.

Dayton told reporters that he has not changed his position and is still open to several funding options. Dayton said he does not support an increase in the state’s existing gas tax, but he said a sales tax on gas at the wholesale level is one of the cards that should be on the table.

“I’m not wedded to any particular strategy or any particular idea, and I’d like to see and hear what others have to say,” he said.

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