Georgia suspends fuel tax, but other states may not follow

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia on Friday become the first state in the U.S. to suspend fuel taxes after the war in the Middle East sent pump prices soaring.

Republican Gov. Brian Kemp signed into law a 60-day suspension of the state’s 33-cents-per-gallon tax on gas and 37-cents-per-gallon tax on diesel. Motorists are likely to start getting relief in the coming days as the price cuts trickle through from wholesalers to gas stations.

Unlike when gas prices surged in 2022, though, other states don’t appear to be moving in the same direction. That’s in part because states aren’t as flush with cash as they were immediately following the pandemic, when federal aid and tax revenues both surged.

The average gas price nationwide has risen from $2.93 a gallon on Feb. 20 to $3.91 a gallon Friday, motorist group AAA says. In Georgia, at least, that prompted a decision to dig into its declining savings account to give two months of relief, even if the savings could be obscured if oil prices continue rising.

Kemp said he wanted to “return taxpayer money where it belongs, in the pockets of hardworking Georgians.”

Officials estimate Georgia will forgo $360 million to $400 million in fuel taxes, which translates to $5 or $6 per tank for a typical passenger vehicle.

But some said it won’t help much. Skylah Mercier, a 21-year-old college student filling her tank Friday near downtown Atlanta, said she has a 40-mile (65-kilometer) trip between home, work and school. Since gas prices have risen, Mercier says she has spent less on food and is seeking other expenses to cut.

“It’s really nothing I can do about it,” Mercier said.

Georgia’s gas taxes are earmarked for roads and bridges, and the state will dip into its accumulated surplus to make up the loss. It’s part of a larger tax package that also includes state income tax rebates of $250 to $500 per household for anyone who filed a Georgia tax return in both 2024 and 2025. That $1.2 billion in rebates will also come from state savings.

All that money will get dished out in an election year as Republicans and Democrats battle for control of swing-state Georgia. Republican-led efforts have given income and property tax rebates, plus multiple gas tax holidays, with all those givebacks valued at more than $9 billion since 2021.

Driven by factors including the war in Ukraine, other states joined Georgia in granting gas relief in 2022, including Connecticut, Florida, Maryland and New York, while Illinois and Kentucky delayed scheduled gas tax increases.

But Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday he has no plans to suspend Florida’s 23.5-cent gas tax, adding there is no “simple fix.”

“My answer is just get the cost down internationally, and that means having stable energy markets, making sure we’re doing everything to get our stuff to market,” DeSantis said in a Bradenton, Florida, news conference. “But I don’t know that there’s going to be any simple fix.”

Republicans are pushing for a 30-day holiday in Maryland, but ruling Democrats are batting it down.

“Marylanders need real relief, not a 30-day gas tax suspension that would blow a $100 million hole in our transportation budget while we’re working to close Maryland’s budget shortfall,” said Ammar Moussa, a spokesperson for Democratic Gov. Wes Moore. “If Maryland Republicans are serious about lowering costs, they should pick up the phone and call Donald Trump and tell him to end this missionless war — instead of asking Maryland taxpayers to help pay for it.”

In Connecticut, Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont proposed a gas tax holiday earlier this month, but the idea hasn’t advanced.

Georgia Republicans sidestepped mentions of President Trump and the war, instead saying they improving affordability, trying to push back on Democratic pressure seeking to capitalize on popular discontent over prices.

“This isn’t an issue that we just discovered,” Kemp said. “It’s one we’ve been taking action on for years, in a strategic and carefully planned way, to help hardworking Georgians.”

But Terrence Wynn, also filling his tank Friday in Atlanta, said the “root” of the problem is the foreign conflict, which he doesn’t see ending soon.

“Gas is a necessity,” Wynn said. “We’re going to have to pay for it anyway, whatever the price is.”

___

Associated Press writers Charlotte Kramon; Freida Frisaro in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; and Brian Witte in Annapolis, Maryland; contributed to this report.