Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, recently announced that he plans to work with the state legislature to “temporarily suspend the state’s excise tax on motor fuel sales.” Kemp will reportedly work with Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan and House Speaker David Ralston to “take measures to alleviate the burden placed on Georgians.” The governor cited a more than 55% increase in the average price of a gallon of gasoline since March 2021 as the catalyst for the move.
The measures will take effect after he signs HB 304 and will last through May 31, 2022. While announcing the plan, Kemp stated, “President Biden took office in January of 2021, and to understand why we are in this current state of record-high inflation and costs to the average American family, people can simply track his first year of misguided policy decisions.”
Kemp explained:
“Because of our strong, fiscally conservative approach to budgeting, Lt. Governor Duncan, Speaker Ralston and I can confidently propose a state motor fuel tax suspension to curb sky-high gas prices while also returning money back to hardworking Georgians through a tax refund and an income tax cut. With this latest measure, we are making it even more clear that in Georgia we are going to empower families to keep their money in their own pockets.”
According to the American Petroleum Institute, Georgia collects a state excise tax of 28.7 cents per gallon. Georgians pay an extra 55.95 cents per gallon of gas when federal and state taxes and fees are included. Georgia’s gas tax was also paused in 2021 during the Colonial Pipeline’s closure.
As gas prices hit a record high this week, President Biden told reporters that “It’s going to go up. Can’t do much right now. Russia is responsible.”
