Tax adds about 18 cents per gallon to the cost of gas. AAA reported the average price of gas at $4.97 per gallon. In Arizona, it was $5.37.
By Ronald J. Hansen |Arizona Republic
President Joe Biden is expected to ask Congress Wednesday to suspend the federal gas tax for three months in an effort to ease Americans’ pain at the pump.
The move, reported by the New York Times, is similar to legislative proposals originally filed in February by Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., and Rep. Tom O’Halleran, D-Ariz., and comes after months of historic inflation has pushed up prices, especially on gas.
The tax adds about 18 cents per gallon to the cost of gas. AAA reported the average price of gas at $4.97 per gallon. In Arizona, it was $5.37.
Gas prices have dipped about 5 cents per gallon over the past week, AAA reported, but that is believed to be because of falling oil prices amid growing fears of a recession.
Worldwide economic tumult — stemming from inconsistent supply chains and the Russian war in Ukraine — and a sizable pandemic-led cash infusion from Congress to Americans have contributed to the worst inflation in decades.
Earlier this month, the Federal Reserve announced the steepest rate hike to its benchmark lending rate since 1994 in an effort to make clear its determination to bring down inflation.
Customers line up for cheaper gas prices at the station on the corner of 20th Street and Osborn Road in Phoenix on June 21, 2022.
Meanwhile, consumers are facing sharply higher mortgage rates and investors are seeing dizzying declines in the stock market.
“I’m so pleased to see the president adopt my plan to suspend the federal gas tax … to provide hardworking families with relief at the pump,” O’Halleran said in a written statement.
