ATLANTA (AP) — Gov. Brian Kemp on Friday signed a regulation suspending Georgia’s motor gasoline tax via the tip of Might.
Lawmakers in each chambers of the Common Meeting accepted Home Invoice 304 with out opposition, in an try to provide drivers a break from excessive gasoline costs.
Georgia’s gasoline value features a federal tax of 18.4 cents per gallon and a state tax of 29.1 cents per gallon. Plenty of cities and counties additionally cost taxes. Federal taxes on diesel gasoline are 24.4 cents per gallon, whereas Georgia’s tax on diesel is 32.6 cents per gallon. The measure would additionally abate Georgia’s taxes on aviation gasoline, liquefied petroleum gasoline and different fuels together with compressed pure gasoline.
It may take a while for customers to see aid, as a result of gasoline stations now are promoting gasoline that was taxed earlier on the wholesale degree.
Suspending collections may price the state as much as $400 million that will be used for street constructing and different transportation initiatives. The Republican Kemp plans to make use of a part of the roughly $1.25 billion in leftover surplus from the final price range yr, past $1.1 billion in state earnings tax refunds, to cowl any hole in transportation funding.
Kemp may prolong the tax break through government order that must be ratified later by lawmakers. Kemp abated gasoline taxes in 2021 throughout a pipeline shutdown, and former Gov. Nathan Deal suspended gasoline taxes a number of instances.
Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia has already been advocating for the federal authorities to droop assortment of its gasoline tax, responding to discontent over rising gasoline costs.
Each Kemp and Warnock are working for reelection this yr.
The common value for a gallon of gasoline within the U.S. on Thursday was $4.27, in keeping with AAA. It was $4.22 in Georgia. Costs have been dropping over the previous week as oil costs have fallen, after spiking following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.