Annapolis –Today, State Senator Andy Harris (R-7) called for a Special Session to suspend the Maryland gas tax from Memorial Day until Labor Day.
Currently, Marylanders pay 23.5¢ in state tax per gallon of gas. When combined with the federal gas tax, each Marylander pays 41.9¢ in taxes per gallon. Diesel is even higher, costing 48.7¢ per gallon in combined federal and state taxes.
With gas prices skyrocketing at alarming rates, the burden of these taxes intensifies. Analysts predict gas prices may top $4.00 a gallon this summer, while diesel is already over $4.00 per gallon!
The sole purpose of the one day Special Session will be to suspend the gas tax from Memorial Day until Labor Day. “If General Assembly took three weeks to raise taxes, we can come back one day to provide temporary gas tax relief to Maryland’s already over-taxed citizens,” said Senator Harris. “Motorists are crying out for tax relief.”
Senator McCain is calling for the suspension of the 18 cents federal gas tax from Memorial Day to Labor Day. “Combining federal and state gas tax relief will provide meaningful help for Maryland families,” Senator Harris added.
Now that the additional increase in sales tax is used to fund transportation projects, Maryland can afford to alleviate the suffering of Maryland motorists.
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
8 comments:
YAH!!! McCain.....YAH!!! Harris
Those are the kinda folks we need to run our country!!!
If the Gov's rationale in raising the sales tax to fund transportation then why don't he drop the gas and fuel taxes since that isthe rationaleforthe gas and fuel tax
too little too late
Will this provide for additional disposable income? Will it help the MD economy, and specifically the tourism trade in Ocean City?
I can say this.....Gas stations near the boarders of MD will be loving this. More inside store sales from out of state drivers. We know fuel isn't where they make their money.
On balance, this is a poor idea. As the price of gasoline rises, the impact of the gas tax actually decreases as it becomes a smaller and smaller percentage of the price consumers pay for the actual commodity. This proposal becomes harmful at the point where it places additional strain on a state budget struggling to cover existing spending liabilities. Considering the strong Democratic majorities in both houses of the legislature, as well as a Democratic Governor, it seems very unlikely that this new deficit in the budget would be balanced with spending cuts. Considering Maryland's constitutional mandate to balance its budget, the money would undoubtedly come from increased taxes of some other variety. Sales taxes were recently raised, the legislature just repealed a tax on high tech industry, showing its unwillingness to tax businesses. Where will the money come from then? Nowhere. The gas tax can not be rationally suspended.
Not to mention the real possibility that gas station owners near other states (Ocean City, Chevy Chase, etc.) could be the real beneficiaries of this law if they are allowed, as Senator Harris' political philosophy would support, to set their own prices without government interference. As 23 cents gets knocked off the consumers bottom line, gas station owners could raise their prices 15 fifteen cents, and still offer prices 8 cents cheaper than before, and 8 cents cheaper than the alternatives across the state border. This would not be price fixing, but a simple reaction to the inflated price of gasoline nearby, in another state. The difference is now, on every sale of 20 gallons of gasoline, gas station owners make an additional three dollars of profit. Multiply that by 1000 tranactions a day, and the government is giving gas station owners an additional 3000 dollars per day. Is this really good for the state as a whole. The answer, unequivocally, is no.
This would be a band-aid approach to a very serious problem.We can not legislate world demand or market prices.Our lifestyle will change in this country as energy costs skyrocket and we can no longer demand cheaper fuel than the rest of the world has.Ask any auto dealer how many big 4wd trucks they are selling.We ain't goin back this time.
Anonymous said...
If the Gov's rationale in raising the sales tax to fund transportation then why don't he drop the gas and fuel taxes since that isthe rationaleforthe gas and fuel tax
9:24 PM
*Voice thick with sarcasm* They need both, because they are going to do such great things with the roads on the WESTERN shore. Lord knows, the Eastern shore doesn't need it!
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