US to call for 3-month suspension of gas and diesel taxes

Washington [US], June 22 (ANI)

US President Joe Biden will call on Congress to suspend federal gasoline and diesel taxes for three months, according to the White House, which added that the President will also call on states to suspend their own gas taxes or provide similar relief.

At issue is the 18.4 cents-a-gallon federal tax on gas and the 24.4 cents-a-gallon federal tax on diesel fuel. If the gas savings were fully passed along to consumers, people would save roughly 3.6% at the pump when prices are averaging about $5 a gallon nationwide. The White House in its fact sheet stated that at present the federal government charges an 18 cent tax per gallon of gasoline and a 24 cent tax per gallon of diesel.

"Those taxes fund critical highways and public transportation, through the Highway Trust Fund. But in this unique moment, with gas prices near $5 a gallon on average across the country, President Biden is calling on Congress to suspend the gas tax for three months - until the end of September - to give Americans a little extra breathing room as they deal with the effects of Putin's war in Ukraine," the statement added.

"With our deficit already down by a historic $1.6 trillion this year, the President believes that we can afford to suspend the gas tax to help consumers while using other revenues to make the Highway Trust Fund whole for the roughly $10 billion cost," it added.

The statement added that President Biden understands that a gas tax holiday alone will not, on its own, relieve the run-up in costs that "we've seen".

But the President believes that at this unique moment when the war in Ukraine is imposing costs on American families, Congress should do what it can to provide working families, it added.

The United States produced more oil under the first year of the Biden administration than it did under the first two years of the Trump administration, and is on track to set new records next year, the statement read.