Fuel taxes in the United States
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As of July 2009, the average state gasoline tax is 28.6 cents per gallon, plus 18.4 cents per gallon federal tax making the total 47 cents per gallon. For diesel, the average state tax is 27 cents per gallon plus an additional 24.4 cents per gallon federal tax making the total 51.4 cents per gallon.[1] As of May 2007, taxes accounted for 20% of the price of gasoline and 21% of the price of diesel.[2]
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[edit] State taxes
The first U.S. state tax on fuel was introduced in February 1919 in Oregon.[3] It was a 1 cent per U.S. gallon (0.3¢/L) tax. In the following decade, all of the U.S. states (48 at the time), along with the District of Columbia, introduced a gasoline tax. By 1939, an average tax of 3.8¢/gal (1¢/L) of fuel was levied by the individual states. The fuel tax in Texas is currently set at 20¢/gal since being raised to that amount in 1991. In May 2007, the Texas House of Representatives unanimously voted to pass a 'gas-tax relief' measure for the 2007 summer driving period. The measure was not passed by the state Senate.
| State | Gasoline Tax (includes Federal Tax of 18.4 cpg) | Diesel Tax (includes Federal Tax of 24.4 cpg) |
|---|---|---|
| US Average | 47.0 | 51.4 |
| Alabama | 39.3 | 46.3 |
| Alaska | 18.4 | 24.4 |
| Arizona | 37.4 | 43.4 |
| Arkansas | 40.2 | 47.2 |
| California | 64.5 | 68.9 |
| Colorado | 40.4 | 44.9 |
| Connecticut | 59.3 | 69.5 |
| Delaware | 41.4 | 46.4 |
| District of Columbia | 38.4 | 44.4 |
| Florida | 52.9 | 54.2 |
| Georgia | 31.4 | 37.3 |
| Hawaii | 62.7 | 70.8 |
| Idaho | 43.4 | 49.4 |
| Illinois | 57.2 | 64.4 |
| Indiana | 52.2 | 65.9 |
| Iowa | 40.4 | 47.9 |
| Kansas | 43.4 | 51.4 |
| Kentucky | 40.9 | 43.9 |
| Louisiana | 38.4 | 44.4 |
| Maine | 49.4 | 56.6 |
| Maryland | 41.9 | 48.7 |
| Massachusetts | 41.9 | 47.9 |
| Michigan | 53.1 | 55.1 |
| Minnesota | 45.6 | 51.6 |
| Mississippi | 37.2 | 43.2 |
| Missouri | 35.7 | 41.7 |
| Montana | 46.2 | 53.0 |
| Nebraska | 45.7 | 51.7 |
| Nevada | 51.5 | 53.0 |
| New Hampshire | 38.0 | 44.0 |
| New Jersey | 32.9 | 41.9 |
| New Mexico | 37.2 | 47.2 |
| New York | 63.4 | 67.7 |
| North Carolina | 48.6 | 54.6 |
| North Dakota | 41.4 | 47.4 |
| Ohio | 46.4 | 52.4 |
| Oklahoma | 35.4 | 38.4 |
| Oregon | 43.4 | 48.7 |
| Pennsylvania | 50.7 | 63.6 |
| Rhode Island | 51.4 | 57.4 |
| South Carolina | 35.2 | 41.2 |
| South Dakota | 42.4 | 48.4 |
| Tennessee | 39.8 | 42.8 |
| Texas | 38.4 | 44.4 |
| Utah | 42.9 | 48.9 |
| Vermont | 41.7 | 50.4 |
| Virginia | 37.8 | 43.8 |
| Washington | 55.9 | 61.9 |
| West Virginia | 50.6 | 56.5 |
| Wisconsin | 51.3 | 57.3 |
| Wyoming | 32.4 | 38.4 |
[edit] Federal taxes
The first federal gasoline tax in the United States was created on June 6, 1932 with the enactment of the Revenue Act of 1932 with a tax of 1 cent/gal (0.3¢/L). The U.S. federal gasoline tax as of 2005[update] was 18.4¢/gal (4.86¢/L), and the gasoline taxes in the various states range from 10 cents to 33 cents, with an average about 22 cents per U.S. gallon (5.8¢/L), making the average combined tax on gasoline 42¢/gal. Unlike most goods in the U.S., the price displayed includes all taxes, rather than being calculated at the point of purchase.
The head of the U.S. Dept. of Transportation stated on 15 August 2007 that about 60% of federal gas taxes are used for highway and bridge construction. The remaining 40% goes to other, unrelated uses.[4] However, revenues from other taxes is also used in federal transportation programs. A 2003 Federation Highway Administration study found that 94% of federal roadway funding came from fuel taxes, 86.3% of state roadway funding came from fuel taxes, and 11.1% of local roadway funding came from fuel taxes.
The study found that altogether in the U.S., 69.6% of roadway funding ($79.6 billion) came from fuel taxes and 30.1% ($33.4 billion) from other funding sources. The other funding sources are most typically general tax revenue.[5]
[edit] Aviation fuel taxes
Aviation gasoline (most often used to fuel small General Aviation aircraft) is taxed at 19.4 cents per gallon as of 2007.[1] Legislation is currently pending to raise this tax to 24.2 cents per gallon.[2]
Jet fuel (called "kerosene for aviation" by the IRS) is taxed at 21.9 cents per gallon for the 2007 tax year unless it is used for commercial aviation (i.e. airlines such as American Airlines and US Airways, and small commercial jets commonly chartered by entertainers, politicians, and business VIP’s). Such commercial operations qualify them for a special tax loophole that allows them to pay only 4.4 cents per gallon.[3] A bill has been introduced by Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) and Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) that would completely eliminate the tax paid by commercial jets, while more than doubling the tax on non commercial jet fuel users to 49 cents per gallon.[4]
These taxes mainly fund airport and Air Traffic Control operations by the FAA, of which commercial aviation is the biggest user.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b Motor Fuel Taxes, American Petroleum Institute, 9 July 2009
- ^ US Gov official energy statistics Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update
- ^ Corning, Howard M. Dictionary of Oregon History. Binfords & Mort Publishing, 1956.
- ^ Online NewsHour: Conversation | Peters Discusses Infrastructure | August 15, 2007 | PBS
- ^ Highway Statistics 2002, Federal Highway Administration (www.fhwa.dot.gov), 2003, summarized by Todd Litman, Whose Roads?, Victoria Transport Policy Institute 30 November, 2004, http://www.vtpi.org/whoserd.pdf accessed 20 February 2009.
