Several U.S. states will temporarily roll back their gasoline taxes, a move the Biden administration is considering backing on the federal level as the fuel cost has passed $4 a gallon, reports Bloomberg.
According to the auto club AAA, the average price of a gallon of unleaded gasoline in the U.S. was $4.32 on Sunday. According to the American Petroleum Institute, U.S. drivers pay an average of 57 cents per gallon in federal and state taxes.
Lawmakers in Maryland will hold a hearing Tuesday on a bill that would suspend the state's approximately 37 cents-per-gallon gas tax for 30 days, with suspension effective as soon as Thursday if the bill is fast-tracked, Bloomberg notes.
Georgia's House of Representatives has passed a similar measure with the support of Governor Brian Kemp. It awaits action in the state Senate. Florida imposed a one-month suspension that takes effect in October, after the tourist season.
Legislation introduced last month by Georgia Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock would suspend the 18.4 cents federal gas tax until January 1, 2023.
But the federal effort still faces skepticism. "The problem is oil companies and gas stations rarely pass that through to customers," Representative Jared Huffman, a California Democrat, said in an interview.
Huffman said that policymakers in California are discussing some rebate programs to get around that problem to make sure any savings are passed on to the customer.
In California, where the taxes are highest, Motorists face a total per-gallon tax of 86.55 cents. That includes a state excise tax of 51.1 cents per gallon and 17.05 cents per gallon in other state taxes, in addition to the federal gas tax.
