Suspend Gas Taxes? Bad Idea

Dec. 9, 2021 – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) wants the state legislature to suspend the state’s gas tax for half a year. This is a bad idea. It has been put forth before as a method to reduce gas prices, and frankly it is a cynical feel-good move with negative ramifications “up the road.” Gas taxes are used to fix roads. There is a traceable cost-benefit. Many people tout gas taxes as a “good tax” because of that. Just because we just passed a huge infrastructure bill, it doesn’t mean we should suspend traditional methods of funding. They all matter. Let’s fix our roads and let other measures – such as the release of some of the strategic petroleum reserve – help to lower gas prices. The U.S. Energy and Information Administration (EIA) projects that retail gasoline prices would average $3.13 per gallon in December before falling to $3.01 per gallon in January. The EIA expects prices to continue to drop, forecasting the annual, national average to be $2.88 per gallon in 2022.