How much more affordable would gas be if SC lawmakers cut the fuel tax? Find out here
South Carolina lawmakers could soon debate whether to suspend the gas tax in the face of skyrocketing fuel prices, but how much would that ease pain at the pump?
Let’s just say, don’t expect to save enough anytime soon for the down payment on that new home you’ve been eying.
South Carolina lawmakers recently began debating their spending plan and some House members are expected to push to suspend the state’s motor fuel tax to provide some financial help while gas prices remain abnormally high.
According to AAA South Carolina, the average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in South Carolina was $4.056 Tuesday morning, slightly down from $4.066 the previous day.. Prices have since steadied after blasting off in recent weeks following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and as as the U.S. has banned oil imports from Russia.
South Carolina’s $0.26 per gallon gas tax, which is set to rise to $0.28 on July 1, generates about $910 million a year, with higher amounts collected during warmer months as tourists visit the state.
Under the current $0.26 per gallon tax, motorists pay $2.60 for every 10 gallon fill up.
What would suspending the tax save?
If a household had two vehicles that got 25 mpg and drove each 15,000 miles a year, suspending South Carolina’s gas tax would mean $312 in total savings annually.
If a household had two vehicles that got 25 mpg and drove each 15,000 miles a year, suspending South Carolina’s gas tax would mean $312 in total savings annually.
A motorist with a 50 mpg vehicle, driving 10,000 miles a year, would save $52 annually without the tax. Meanwhile, a person driving 40,000 a year with a vehicle getting only 15 miles per gallon, would save $693 were the tax suspended for a year.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Joe Cunningham first called for the gas tax’s suspension in November. Recently some Republican state lawmakers, including State Rep. Russell Fry, R-Horry, who is running for Congress in the coastal 7th District, and state Rep. Stewart Jones, R-Laurens, have called for the suspension.
However, a new rule adopted in the State House requires that lawmakers who want to cut revenue by at least $1 million must find a way to replace that money in the budget or make corresponding budget cuts. Not replacing the revenue from the gas tax could mean a shortage of funding for road work and bridge projects.
