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States Test Gas-Tax Holidays as Push Grows for a Federal Pause

Road-funding rules, pass-through doubts, legal limits complicate calls for quick relief.

Overview

  • Indiana extended its gas-tax holiday and added the gasoline excise tax, with officials saying the combined pause now yields about 59 cents off per gallon.
  • Kentucky’s governor moved to cut the state gas tax by 10 cents per gallon, a change set to take effect May 11 pending approval from the attorney general.
  • Other state moves continue, with Georgia suspending its motor-fuel excise tax through May 19 and Utah planning a 15% reduction in its state gas tax beginning July 1.
  • At the federal level, supporters are pressing for a nationwide holiday on the 18.4-cent gasoline tax and 24.4-cent diesel tax, while critics warn it would sap the Highway Trust Fund by billions.
  • In Minnesota, a constitutional rule that sends fuel-tax revenue to a roughly $1 billion highway fund blocks a holiday, and experts say any tax pause may not fully reach drivers because fuel taxes are often collected from suppliers before the pump.