Gas Tax Holiday Coming To U.S. Drivers

President Biden is today expected to ask Congress to enact a gas tax holiday in his latest attempt to rein in retail fuel prices, Bloomberg reported, citing an unnamed source familiar with the situation.

The idea of a gas tax holiday was recently mentioned by Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm in an interview with CNN, in which Granholm said President Biden was evaluating a gas tax holiday but noted that it was a problematic solution to the price problem because the federal gas tax is a major revenue source for infrastructure projects.

The president, however, appears none too concerned about the impact of such a tax holiday on infrastructure spending.

“We have a giant infrastructure bill we passed -- giant,” President Biden said on Tuesday, as quoted by Bloomberg. “It’s not like before. Look, it will have some impact, but it’s not going to have an impact on major road construction and major repairs.”

Some of his fellow Democrats in Congress, however, are concerned about the impact such a tax holiday will have on infrastructure spending. They also appear to be unconvinced it would bring prices at the pump down, according to a Bloomberg report.

Asked about whether he had already made a decision, Biden said he would have a decision by the end of the week.

“President Biden has made clear he is committed to doing everything he can to reduce gas prices for the American people, and he will have more to say on this tomorrow,” an unnamed White House official said on Tuesday evening, as quoted by the Wall Street Journal.

President Biden will be speaking at 2 pm Eastern Time today about the federal gas tax.

Meanwhile, fuel prices remain high, although gasoline has slipped below the all-time high of over $5 per gallon it reached earlier this month. As of Tuesday, AAA reported an average national gasoline price of $4.968 per gallon, with diesel at $5.812 per gallon.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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