The Governor of Georgia, Brian Kemp, signed a law on Friday which suspended the motor fuel tax of the state through the end of May. Legislators in both of the chambers of the General Assembly had approved of the House Bill 304 unanimously, which was simply an attempt to provide the drivers with a break from massive prices of gas. The gasoline price of Georgia also includes a federal tax which comes to around 18.4 cents per gallon and a state tax which comes to 29.1 cents per gallon.
Brian Kemp Suspends Gas Tax In Georgia- Bringing Relief to People
Although Brian Kemp’s decision to put this in law will definitely bring about some relief to the citizens of the state, the relief won’t be coming immediately. It would be because most of the gas stations at this point have been selling fuel that was taxed way back at the wholesale level. Suspending collections at this moment will cost the state of Georgia heavily- in the range of $400 million. On the other hand, such a sum could be used for infrastructure and transportation projects.
The Republican Brian Kemp also has plans of using part of the $1.25 billion in the leftover surplus from the budget that took place the previous year. He would also go beyond the $1.1 billion that was received in state income tax refunds- in order to cover any little gap that might come during transportation funding.
Brian Kemp could easily extend the tax break thus signed through an executive order that would have to receive its ratification later by the legislators. Kemp did abate the gas taxes back in 2021 over a pipeline shutdown, and former Governor Nathan Deal went on to suspend the gas taxes quite a few times. The US. Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia has also put in his two cents, advocating for the federal government to suspend its collection of gas tax- which could be a response to the discontent that is brewing over increasing prices of fuel.
