President Biden is considering a proposed gas tax holiday for American consumers. On Monday, the President said that he would reach a decision on the holiday by the end of this week. However, the President failed to mention if the holiday would extend to diesel fuel.
Biden’s administration has been grappling with record inflation and gas prices for the last few months. Increasingly, American consumers are feeling the effects of a struggling global economy that may be headed towards recession. In the face of this crisis, the administration has looked for ways to ease the burden on American consumers. It has already urged oil refiners to increase their capacity and released massive amounts of federal reserve oil to help reduce the cost of gasoline. These measures, unfortunately, fell short of the administration’s goal of meaningfully reducing the cost of a tank of gas.
Enter the gas tax holiday. This proposal would allow the government to repeal the gas tax for a set amount of time. Estimates say it would save drivers up to 18.4 cents per gallon on gasoline. This translates to $16-$47 per tank of gas, depending on the size of the tank itself.
Will the gas tax holiday extend to diesel fuel?
Despite optimism about the holiday’s potential, observers noted that the President failed to mention diesel fuel in his announcement on Monday. This is a major oversight, as truckers across the country have felt the crunch of high gas prices just as much as (or more than) American consumers. Many truckers also believe that their increasing costs are helping to drive the record inflation numbers.
Across the country, the price of gasoline is averaging just under $5 per gallon. However, diesel fuel has peaked at its own record high of $5.718 per gallon. The tax on diesel fuel is more than 24 cents per gallon.
With many industries struggling to keep their prices down due to ongoing supply chain issues and soaring demand, the trucking industry hopes that the President doesn’t leave truckers out of this proposed holiday. If he does, he could be missing a huge opportunity to alleviate some of the worst of the current economic climate.
