As Gas Prices Continue to Soar, Congress and States Should Provide Gas Tax ‘Holiday’ – Opinion

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For months, President Biden and scores of federal lawmakers have been paying lip service about Americans’ struggles to keep up with inflation, especially when it comes to rapidly rising prices at the pump.

In a recent opinion piece, he writes for The Wall Street Journal, Biden said he has taken “every practical step to make things more affordable for families during this moment of economic uncertainty—and to boost the productive capacity of our economy over time.”

He added that when it comes to record-high prices at the pump, he has specifically “led the largest release from global oil reserves in history.”

Yet, despite his draining of the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve and whatever he was referring to when he said he has taken “every practical step” to reduce inflation, Americans are still facing the fact that gas prices continue to rise and inflation is getting worse, not better.

What can Congress and Biden do, other than the empty rhetoric and hollow policies? How can they reduce the outrageous price of one gallon gasoline which currently costs $4.67 on average

For starters, it would certainly behoove the Biden administration and Congress to strongly consider a national gas tax “holiday.”

At the moment, the federal tax on one gallon gasoline is at 18 cents per gal for regular gasoline and 24 for diesel fuel.

Biden and Congress would collaborate to stop federal tax levies from being imposed on gas prices if they wanted to have an immediate impact.

Every state also has a state-based fuel tax. As can be expected, most “blue” states have enacted onerous gas taxes over the years while most “red” states have maintained lower fuel taxes. However, all states in the country have a gas tax which only increases the price of gasoline.

The state in Illinois collects 39c for each gallon sold of regular gasoline. Illinois collects 47 cents per gallon for diesel fuel. Californians are required to pay 51c per gallon for gasoline purchased. New Jersey has a gas tax that is higher than the national average, at 41 cents for regular gasoline and 49 cents for diesel fuel.

If you add the gasoline tax from both the Federal and State, an average American would have to pay an extra 51 cents per gallon.

It makes sense to have a national ban on gasoline taxes, seeing as Americans can’t afford the current price of gasoline.

Americans would feel a welcome relief at their pumps if Biden was able to negotiate this tax freeze for fuel through Congress.

Additionally, Americans who are suffering the most from high gas prices in the blue states could benefit more if they joined the gas tax holiday party.

There are some states that have been able to get ahead of the game in suspending gasoline taxes. Georgia governor. Brian Kemp signed a bill in March to temporarily halt his state’s 29-cent-per-gallon tax, yet that only lasted until May 31.

Governor of New York Kathy Hochul signed a bill in April that will suspend the Empire State’s 16-cent-per-gallon tax from June 1 to December 31. Maryland and Connecticut have taken similar measures, but their suspensions last only a few months.

It is important to remember that gas tax suspensions would result in lower revenue for the federal government and the state governments. However, this seems to be a fair tradeoff. To ensure budget surpluses are not caused by gas tax suspensions, the states can mandate spending offsets.

A combination state-federal gas tax holiday is a great idea, with nearly three quarters of American households struggling to make ends meet. This would be a timely reminder to us, the people, that we are being nickel-and dipped to death by our elected representatives at the federal level and the state.

Chris Talgo ([email protected]eartland.org) Senior editor, The Heartland Institute