Gas prices are CRAZY! So what is the solution?
Welp, on June 20, President Joe Biden announced he’s considering a federal gas tax holiday. CNN reports he hopes to have a decision by the end of the week.
If it goes through, it’ll wave the 18.4-cent national tax that is currently added to each gallon of gasoline sold. The administration may also consider sending Americans gas rebate cards. However, The White House downplayed that idea, saying it would be difficult to administer.
The publication points out Biden would need Congress to act, and there’s been traction with lawmakers. While some encourage Biden to get behind the idea, others, including Democrats, are weary. The bill is pending and hasn’t come up for a vote in Congress. Larry Summers, a Treasury Secretary to President Bill Clinton, said, “I’m no fan of the gas tax holiday. I think that’s kind of a gimmick, and eventually, you have to reverse it.”
Yahoo reports. Americans could save approximately $70 a day, according to the outlet. National gas prices are average $4.97 a gallon.
The “downside” to waiving the tax, as reported in Yahoo Finance, is “sometimes prices come back higher than what they would have been had the tax holiday never occurred,” according to a study from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
New York suspended their 16-cents-a-gallon gas tax on June 1 for the rest of 2022. Connecticut is waiving its 25-cents-a-gallon gas tax through June 30. Three other states have suspended their gas tax already, CNET reports.
President Biden said that he was considering seeking a gas tax holiday to ease high fuel prices, a major political dilemma for the White House as it struggles to address record inflation. https://t.co/sij9clIbPl
— The New York Times (@nytimes) June 21, 2022
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