Biden considers federal gas tax holiday as Massachusetts keeps state tax in place
BOSTON - President Joe Biden said Monday he's considering a federal holiday on the gasoline tax, possibly saving American drivers up to 18 cents a gallon. It would be welcome news for families already changing their summer travel plans.
"I'm supposed to go back up to Maine next week. I think I'm just going to cancel it. Even this trip was $250, almost $300," a driver from Fairhaven told WBZ-TV, pointing to the trailer on his pickup.
Critics of a gas tax holiday say there are no guarantees drivers would feel a difference.
Connecticut suspended its state tax from April 1 through June 30.
"I see the prices to pump the gas here. It's almost 25-30 cents more from New Haven to here," the Connecticut driver said.
The federal gas tax hasn't been increased in nearly three decades. And the price we do pay serves a critical purpose.
"The gas tax, from what I understand, is revenue we use to keep the highways up. It might be temporarily good to help prices go down but has a longer-term effect, too," a driver from West Roxbury said.
Massachusetts drivers pay a 24-cent-per-gallon tax in addition to that. Multiple proposals to suspend Massachusetts' gas tax were voted down this spring. The president hopes to have a decision on the federal tax holiday by the end of this week.