Ryan Rules Out Gas Tax Increase, Major Individual Tax Changes

The U.S. House of Representatives won’t pass an increase in the federal gas tax, said Paul Ryan, the chamber’s top tax-writer.

“We won’t pass a gas tax,” Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican, told reporters Thursday at the party’s policy retreat in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Earlier this month, he became chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.

As gasoline prices have declined, some lawmakers have urged Congress to consider the first gas tax increase since 1993 as a way to replenish the government’s highway fund.

Ryan also said the divide between Republicans and President Barack Obama would prevent a “full-throttle” revamp of the U.S. tax code.

Obama is encouraging changes to the business tax system that would set aside the dispute over whether high-income taxpayers should pay more.

“We just want to make sure we have the best possible tax reform that creates jobs, is fair,” Ryan said.