Gas prices in the United States are hitting all-time highs, and are expected to keep going up following President Joe Biden's ban on all Russian energy imports, causing a number of governors and other politicians to propose the idea of gas tax "holidays."
The national average of regular gas on March 10 is $4.32 a gallon, according to AAA. The previous all-time high was $4.11 a gallon back in July of 2008, although, that would be $5.25 today if you adjusted for inflation, according to USA Today.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is one of many governors that has called for a gas tax "holiday" to help its residents. He announced a plan on Tuesday to suspend the state's gas tax of 29 cents per gallon through the end of May. On Thursday, Kemp said that his goal is to sign legislation "in the next few days."
California currently has the highest national average at $5.69 per gallon, as Gov. Gavin Newsom pushed for gas tax rebate on Tuesday.
During his "State of the State" address, he said that there will be a revised budget submitted to the state legislature with the goal to "put money back in Californians' pockets to address rising gas prices," according to CNN.
The average price of gas in Virginia is $4.24 per gallon, just under the current national average, but Gov. Glenn Youngkin still believes that the state needs to do something to slow down rising prices.
"We're going to suspend the most recent increase in the gas tax, which is only making prices at the pump worse," Youngkin told FOX Business. "As inflation steals America's income, we've got to get taxes down."
Pennsylvania has the highest gas tax in the United States at 57.6 cents per gallon, as Gov. Tom Wolf and the governors of Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, and Wisconsin sent a joint letter to Congress to suspend the federal gas of 18.2 cents per gallon through the rest of the year.
"As Congress looks to relieve Americans of the financial stress caused by increased gas prices amid international crises and rising inflation, we support federal legislation to address rising gas prices by suspending the federal gas tax until the end of the year," the letter said.
The letter went on to explain how the suspension of the federal gas tax would help people across the country deal with high prices due to inflation.
"First, it saves Americans at the pump by suspending the federal gas tax for the rest of the year. Money saved at the pump translates into dollars back in consumers' pockets for groceries, childcare, rent, and more."
The five governors believe that suspending the federal gas tax should be heavily considered by Congress, and know that it can be done while also keeping infrastructure investments in place.
"At a time when people are directly impacted by rising prices on everyday goods, a federal gas tax holiday is a tool in the toolbox to reduce costs for Americans, and we urge you to giver every consideration to this proposed legislation."
Related
Related
