Georgia extends gas tax suspension amid elevated pump prices
Georgia drivers battling elevated fuel prices will continue to get a break at the fuel pump through the Thanksgiving holiday travel period.
Gov. Brian Kemp on Saturday announced the state is extending its suspension of the gas tax through Nov. 30, stating in a release he’s taking the “step to keep more money in Georgians’ pockets.” Georgia’s current motor fuel excise tax, which pays for road maintenance and construction, is about 33.3 cents per gallon for gasoline and about 37 cents per gallon for diesel.
As of Saturday, the average price for regular gas in Georgia is about $3.67 per gallon, with diesel sitting at about $5.73, according to data from AAA. That’s up from a year ago, when the Georgia average was about $2.80 per gallon for regular and $3.48 for diesel.
Nationally, the average cost for regular gas is about $4.30 per gallon, with diesel at $6.33 per gallon.
The state fuel tax was most recently suspended Sept. 28, as the spike in gas prices after the war with Iran had yet to ease. The tax relief was expected to cost the state about $200 million a month, which the state would likely offset by dipping into its surplus. That same day, Kemp issued a state of emergency for fuel supply disruptions because of market volatility, which has also been extended.
Kemp has repeatedly turned to gas-tax suspensions to cushion Georgians from rising fuel costs. He signed a measure in March that made Georgia the first state to suspend the gas tax after the start of the war in Iran, though the tax was reinstated in early June.
The widening U.S.-Iran conflict across the Middle East has disrupted energy production and shipping through a major oil export route called the Strait of Hormuz, where about a fifth of the world’s crude oil and natural gas travels. The slowed traffic through the narrow waterway has tightened fuel supply, spurring higher costs across the economy.