With record-high gas prices causing Americans to worry, officials at the federal level are considering Stimulus Checks to reduce the cost burden.
On Tuesday, Los Angeles became the first major city in the United States to have a gas price of $6 or more. The national average gas price in the United States is started to decline, according to GasBuddy, after reaching a high of $4.35 per gallon on March 10.
One suggestion calls for a stimulus check, while others call for oil firms to be taxed.
Gas Stimulus Check Being Pushed By California, Connecticut, And Illinois
A measure has been submitted by Reps. Mike Thompson of California, John Larson of Connecticut, and Lauren Underwood of Illinois. The gas stimulus check would be dispersed in the same manner as the most recent Economic Impact Payments (EIPs), with single filers earning less than $75,000 getting a $100 reimbursement.
The Gas Price Gouging Tax and Rebate Act, sponsored by Rep. Peter DeFazio of Oregon, would “establish a windfall profit tax on excessive corporate profits and return the income to American consumers in the form of a tax rebate.” According to his plan, if a company’s adjusted taxable income (ATI) surpasses 110 percent of its average ATI between 2015 and 2019, it will be subject to a one-time 50 percent windfall profit tax in 2022.
The windfall profit tax money, according to DeFazio, would be returned to consumers in the form of a monthly, advanced, and refundable tax credit stimulus check that will gradually phase out as income grows. He stated that the eligibility criteria would be the same as those for the COVID-19 pandemic stimulus checks.
California’s Democratic state senators suggested a $400 gas refund for every taxpayer, paid by $9 billion from the state’s budget surplus.