Americans who live in states governed by Democrats are paying on average higher gasoline taxes than their peers in GOP-run jurisdictions, according to the latest figures, with New York, Pennsylvania and California imposing the biggest levies on motorists.
Those who live in blue states pay on average 29 cents per gallon in state gas tax, according to IGEN, a company that specializes in tax analysis.
Americans living in red states pay 26 cents per gallon in tax on average, IGEN figures show.
IGEN’s figures were cited by Newsweek.
The American Petroleum Institute, the group which represents the gas and oil industry, calculated the rates of gas tax in addition to other related charges including excise and sales taxes on gasoline.
API figures show that residents of Democrat-led states pay on average 37.1 cents per gallon while Republican-run states charge on average 29.2 cents per gallon.
New Yorkers pay the most at the pump in taxes — 94 cents per gallon when factoring in gasoline, sales, and excise duties. Their neighbors to the east in Pennsylvania pay 58 cents. In California, motorists pay 51 cents per gallon.
Residents of Alaska pay the least amount of state gas taxes in the country. Motorists in The Last Frontier pay just a paltry 9 cents per gallon of gas. Hawaii pays the second least amount of gas taxes to their state — just 16 cents per gallon.
The fees are added to the 18.4 cents per gallon that Americans pay as part of a federal tax on gas. President Joe Biden on Wednesday is expected to make a controversial call on Congress to suspend the federal gas and diesel taxes for three months.
Critics counter that supply and demand are the real issue driving high gasoline prices, arguing that a tax holiday could only exacerbate the problem and encourage energy companies to simply charge more.
For every gallon of gas, Americans send 18.4 cents to Washington. Those filling up diesel pay 24 cents per gallon in tax to Uncle Sam.
Some states, including Maryland, Georgia, and Connecticut, have also sought to give motorists a break by introducing their own gas tax holidays. New York suspended its gas tax earlier this month while Florida is planning to do the same in October.
Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, estimated that the majority of the 8.6% inflation seen over the past 12 months in the US comes from higher commodity prices due to Russia’s invasion and continued disruptions from the coronavirus.
Americans have had a bit of relief at the pump in recent days as the national average fell below $5 a gallon thanks to slumping oil prices.
A barrel of oil fell from $122 last week to around $104 on Wednesday. Economists attribute fears of a global recession to the tumbling energy prices.
As of Wednesday, the nationwide average price per gallon of gas stood at $4.96, according to AAA.
Several states that had crossed the $5 a gallon threshold earlier this month have dipped below it, including New York, Vermont, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Colorado, and Wyoming.
With Post wires
[Written in collaboration with other media outlets with information from the following sources]
