Don't expect full 41-cent gas tax cut at the pump
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North Carolina will suspend the 41-cent state tax on gas and diesel through the end of November, pending the governor's signature.
Why it matters: The money will bring relief from months of high prices, especially to the shipping and farming industries.
What they're saying: "We expect to see [savings] first in companies that manage fleets … so hopefully they'll feel relief almost immediately," Sen. Buck Newton (R-Wilson) said during a committee meeting.
- House Speaker Destin Hall (R-Caldwell) told reporters lawmakers hope "that gets passed along to the customer."
State of play: Prices at the pump likely won't come down immediately.
- "There will be some lag time" for ordinary consumers, since fuel stations pay the taxes upfront and include them in prices, Newton said.
- Individuals could benefit once stations sell all their taxed fuel and receive untaxed deliveries.
- If prices dipped the full 41 cents per gallon, drivers of North Carolina's most popular vehicles would save about $6 to $10 per fill-up.
Yes, but: Passing on all 41 cents is unlikely.
- A spring Penn Wharton Budget Model projection estimated that in North Carolina, consumers would save about 30 cents per gallon on gasoline and 24 cents per gallon on diesel during a gas tax holiday of roughly this length.
Follow the money: Not collecting the taxes will cost the state $362 million, nonpartisan legislative staff project.
- Most of that money is used to build and maintain state highways. Lawmakers ordered it all be replaced with cash from reserves.
The latest: The measure sailed through both chambers of the General Assembly with bipartisan support during a special session on Wednesday.
- Democrats criticized the Republican-led measure for its timing — the midterms are one month away — and for not going far enough to help those struggling with the cost of living.
What's next: The legislation is being sent to Democratic Gov. Josh Stein for his signature. Stein told reporters yesterday he was "gratified" lawmakers were taking action.
- The General Assembly will reconvene in November after the midterm elections but before the gas tax holiday expires on Nov. 30.