Tag: Gas Tax

Democrats Renew Call For Gas Tax Holiday

West Virginia Democrats responded to Justice’s statement from Monday that he’s considering a one-month gas tax holiday. He said he was also considering calling a special session next week.

Democrats are urging Gov. Jim Justice to expedite a gas tax holiday.

West Virginia Democrats responded to Justice’s statement from Monday that he’s considering a one-month gas tax holiday. He said he was also considering calling a special session next week.

Justice said the gas tax suspension could help West Virginia families with summer travel.

“They are thinking about going on vacations and things like that,” Justice said. “If there’s a way to help a little bit and take a one-month holiday, I don’t think it would be detrimental to us.”

Justice had expressed concerns that funding a gas tax holiday would cut into state road bond funding. He said on Monday that federal dollars and a $300 million state surplus may allow the gas tax pause.

Senate Minority Leader Stephen Baldwin, D-Greenbrier, said that Democrats proposed the gas tax holiday back in April.

He and other Democrats pointed out the gas struggles of low income West Virginians. They noted that some neighboring states like Maryland have implemented a gas tax holiday.

Baldwin and other Democrats repeated state tourism concerns. They believe with high gas prices, many might not drive to state parks or take part in gas-consuming adventures on the Hatfield-McCoy ATV trail.

“Tourism is big in the state right now, and we want to keep it that way,” Baldwin said. “If gas prices are higher here, that’s going to impact that. If gas prices are lower here than in surrounding states, then more people are going to be more likely to come to West Virginia.”

Democrats said another option would be a rebate for registered motorists and motor? carriers. It’s estimated that 600,000 West Virginia drivers getting a $50 rebate would cost the state $30 million per month. A $100 rebate would cost $60 million a month.

The Democrats preferred plan is starting with a one-month gas tax holiday, and leaving options open to extend it month by month.

According to AAA, a gallon of regular gas averaged $4.73 in West Virginia on Tuesday, up from $2.99 a year ago.

All Senate and House Democrats back the gas tax holiday. No word from any Republicans, except Justice.

Senate President Craig Blair, R-Berkeley, and House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, stand by their joint March statement on the issue.

They said then they support tax reductions, but a multitude of legal and finincial reasons exist to not suspend the gas tax.

They said a 30 day suspension of the 35.7 cent a gallon tax offered no guarantee retailers would lower prices by the same amount. And, they said a gas tax cut could put bond funding for the Roads to Prosperity projects at risk.

Justice hinted he would have details on a possible gas tax holiday and special session in his COVID-19 briefing scheduled for Wednesday

W.Va. Democrats Offer Second Proposal For Gas Tax Relief

Democrat House and Senate leaders say their requests for immediate gubernatorial action on a proposed month-long gas tax holiday have fallen on deaf ears

Democrat House and Senate leaders say their requests for immediate gubernatorial action on a proposed month-long gas tax holiday have fallen on deaf ears.

Gov. Jim Justice again said on Tuesday the estimated $35 million it would cost the state for the proposal is money designated for repaying road repair bonds.

“It would cost us $30 or $40 million a month, and those funds are going to repair our roads,” Justice said. “And at the same time, nobody in the world would want us to pay a little less to pay at the pump than me.”

But Democrats like Sen. Richard Lindsay, D-Kanawha, said on Wednesday that neighboring Maryland has called a gas tax holiday, while having the same road bond situation as West Virginia.

“We reached out to Maryland’s State Finance Chairman, and their attorney and found that we could do it here in West Virginia since they encountered the same types of issues,” Lindsay said. “But they were able to get it done.”

Democrats offered an alternative proposal, a $100 rebate to all non-electric vehicle owners. They calculate that would equal the 35.7 percent tax taken off 16 gas fill-ups.

The governor has called the legislature back for a special session next month but has not said he would include gas tax relief on the agenda.

It would take a three fifths House and Senate agreement for the legislature to call itself into a special session. Del. Shawn Fluharty, D-Ohio, questioned if Republicans would join the effort.

“I can guarantee you every single Democrat would sign on to doing that,” Fluharty said. “Yet we haven’t heard from Republicans who say they would do the same. So I think now the ball goes to the Republican leadership’s court.”

For Gov. Justice, this gas tax relief debate is a double edged sword.

“If the legislature comes to me and says, ‘This is what we want to do,’ I’ll be all in,”Justice said. “But there are so many ramifications. We do not need people grandstanding.”

Transportation Experts Skeptical Of Gas Tax Holiday As Prices Increase

The recent increase in gas prices nationwide could result in some West Virginians crossing state borders to fill up their tanks. But some transportation experts think this tactic is not worth the drive.

The recent increase in gas prices nationwide could result in some West Virginians crossing state borders to fill up their tanks.

In regions like the Eastern Panhandle, many consumers cross the border for states with lower taxes on gas. Maryland’s legislature is set to enact a 30 day gas tax holiday to curb increasing gas prices. This could lead even more West Virginians to look for cheaper gas prices elsewhere. But some transportation experts think this tactic is not worth the drive.

Robert Fuentes is president of Washington D.C-based Eno Center for Transportation. He’s unsure that these gas tax holidays would be worth it for consumers.

“The public policy can only affect a small piece of it, which is the tax part,” Fuentes said. “And so I’m just skeptical that it’s actually going to result in enough meaningful savings to the average driver, in order to make a really big dent in their everyday expenses.”

Fuentes says carrying out a gas tax holiday would only affect a small share of the price – only around one-fifth of the price of a gallon of gas. Most of the price is made up of other fees like the price of crude oil, marketing materials, and other expenses.

West Virginia Public Broadcasting reached out to the West Virginia Oil Marketers & Grocers Association but did not receive a response. An infographic on their website shows the current West Virginia state tax is nearly 36 cents per gallon of gas. To compare, Maryland’s state gas tax is 37 cents. States like Pennsylvania and Virginia are also considering enacting a gas tax holiday. They have respective state taxes of 59 cents and 29 cents.

“If there is some kind of impact, then that will have some kind of effect on the retail businesses on the West Virginia side, who may not have as many folks coming to their stations to buy gasoline, but then also all the other ancillary things that go along with gasoline purchases in convenience stores and automotive equipment and things like that,” Fuentes said.

Asha Weinstein Agrawal, director of San Jose State University’s Mineta Transportation Institute, agrees that the longer trip for gas might not be worth it. She says there is no guarantee savings would actually be passed directly to drivers, noting that oil refineries are usually the ones that actually pay the gas tax directly.

“It has to go through two layers,” Agrawal said. “First, do they pass the savings on to your local gas station, and then does the gas station – if it got some or all of that savings – pass it on to the consumer?”

Agrawal also notes that crossing state borders for cheaper gas could set West Virginians up for longer term disadvantages, like reduced revenue for roads and public transportation.

Both experts say consumers can save money in the long-term by making the switch to fuel efficient vehicles.

“Let’s not even think of electric vehicles, we just stick with gas and diesel; if it just went 10 miles to the gallon, you could be saving a lot of people 50 percent of their gas costs,” Agrawal said. “And that’s forever, it’s not just some holiday that lasts a few months.”

As of Friday, the American Automobile Association reports the average price of a gallon of gas in West Virginia is $4.10. This price is 17 cents lower than the national average of $4.27.

On Thursday, West Virginia Democrats held a rally urging Governor Justice to enact a gas tax holiday here in the state, with the governor responding that he did not have the power to suspend the tax and that the issue is the legislature’s responsibility. House Speaker Roger Hanshaw and Senate President Craig Blair also released a statement opposing a suspension of the tax.

Coal, Gas Tax Revenues in March Top Estimate

West Virginia’s tax collections from coal and natural gas production in March topped $40 million, exceeding original budget estimates by $13 million and showing some recovery from last year.

State Revenue Secretary Dave Hardy says that gain was partly offset by corporate net income tax, consumer sales tax and business and occupation taxes that were more than $8 million below estimates altogether.

Hardy says they are still projecting an overall budget shortfall of about $123 million in the fiscal year that ends June 30. Deputy Revenue Secretary Mark Muchow says the comeback in extraction tax receipts came from increases in natural gas prices that raised demand for power plant coal while the state has also seen an uptick in demand for metallurgical coal used to make steel.

Annual Recalculation Cuts W.Va. Gas Tax By Penny

Motorists will get a break on gasoline prices in West Virginia thanks to an annual tax recalculation.
 
Beginning Jan. 1, the state’s tax for conventional motor fuels will drop about a penny per gallon from 35.7 cents to 34.6 cents.

Deputy revenue secretary Mark Muchow tells the Charleston Daily Mail that the decrease will save motorists more than $15 million compared to what they are paying this year.
 
The state Tax Department is required by law to recalculate the average wholesale price of motor fuels in the state every year. Conventional motor fuels include gasoline, kerosene and diesel.
 
The variable tax is one of the state gas tax’s three components. The tax also includes a flat state rate and a flat federal tax.
 
 

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