THREE US states have suspended gas tax as American drivers struggle with soaring prices.
Connecticut hopped on the gas tax holiday as of Wednesday, following Georgia and Maryland.
Both houses voted to halt the 25-cent-per-gallon tax to help Americans handle the growing cost of filling their tanks.
With Russia’s war on Ukraine skyrocketing the gas price, on top of inflation, the nation’s average price-per-gallon stands at $4.236 as of Thursday, per AAA.
With some members of Congress proposing a federal gas tax halt, the proposal was controversial with some lawmakers, leaving states to create their own options.
On top of gas rebates and different tips to save gas, the tax holiday can additionally help Americans shrug some burden off their shoulders.
As of now, there are three states with implemented gas tax holidays:
Connecticut
Connecticut became the third state to implement a gas tax holiday.
Connecticut is to halt the gas tax from April to June to ease some stress on residents.
Ranking as the 13th state with the highest gas price in the country, the gas tax will temporarily help with the escalated $4.318 per gallon price.
Georgia
Georgia’s gas tax holiday will continue through May 31, 2022. Governor Brian Kemp signed the bill, which started on March 18 from 5pm.
Georgia’s average gas-per-gallon is $3.993 as of Thursday.
Maryland
Maryland was the first US state to halt the gas tax on March 18 signed by Governor Larry Hogan.
The state will put a pause on gas tax for 30 days, until April 16.
The bill was originally intended to a 90-day-halt by Comptroller Peter Franchot, but the legislature quickly passed a 30-day-halt instead, per Comptroller of Maryland.
Despite some states already suspending the gas tax, many are concerned with the aftermath.
Per Tax Foundation, a gas tax holiday may bring some temporary help but can cause long-term effects on the economy. “In the context of the whole economy, reducing or skyrokcet eliminating the gas tax would exacerbate inflation,” shared Tax Foundation federal analyst Alex Muresianu.
“Temporarily suspending the gas tax would be a much smaller program than, say, the American Rescue Plan (ARP) enacted last March, but it would have some shared design problems: providing more fiscal stimulus than the gap between the economy’s current position and its potential.”
