CAMARILLO, Calif. -- The U.S. average tax on gasoline is at a record high, 49.84 cents per gallon, according to a the most recent Lundberg Letter from the Lundberg Survey. "Taxes on gasoline, whose share of retail price towers over retail margin and even refiner margin on gasoline, brought in more bucks to government coffers last year than ever: more than $67 billion."
The federal gasoline tax has been 18.4 cents per gallon since 1993.
Eleven states have recently raised their gasoline taxes, Lundberg said, including the 3.5-cents-per-gallon tax that goes into effect on July 1 in California. A California State Board of Equalization panel voted for the increase on Feb. 28.
Ten states have raised excise taxes on gasoline since Dec. 2009, said the report.
Maryland and Virginia are close to passing new gasoline tax legislation--Maryland's will be a gasoline tax increase, while Virginia's would lower the gasoline tax but raise nonfuel taxes. Wyoming's Senate has just approved a 10-cents-per gallon excise tax increase, and the governor is expected to sign it. Vermont has a plan to cut its tax by 4.7 cents, to 14.4 cents per gallon, and apply a new 4% sales tax on the retail price of gasoline before state and federal taxes. New Hampshire's House has just approved a 15-cents-per-gallon increase, phased in over four years (and over six years for diesel).
Lundberg said 15 states (Alaska, Wyoming, Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, Louisiana, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina, Virginia, New Jersey and New Hampshire) have "limited" taxes, 15 states (Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Iowa, Arkansas, Ohio, Maryland, Delaware, Massachusetts and Vermont) have "moderate" taxes and 20 states (Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, Maine, Connecticut, Rhode Island, North Carolina, Georgia and Florida) have "high" taxes.
Chicago has the highest combined gasoline tax in the nation, at 77 cents per gallon. Los Angeles comes in second at 72.1 cents. Long Island is third at 69.1 cents. Honolulu is fourth at 66 cents. And Hartford, Conn., is fifth at 64.4 cents.
For additional details, charts and analysis, click here to receive the full March 8, 2013, issue for free (with completed free-issue request form).
Camarillo, Calif.-based Lundberg Survey Inc. is an independent market research company specializing in the U.S. petroleum marketing and related industries.
Click here for previous Lundberg Survey reports in CSP Daily News.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.