Georgia suspends fuel tax, but other states may not follow

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia on Friday become the first state in the U.S. to suspend fuel taxes after the war in the Middle East sent pump prices soaring.

Republican Gov. Brian Kemp signed into law a 60-day suspension of the state’s 33-cents-per-gallon tax on gas and 37-cents-per-gallon tax on diesel. Motorists are likely to start getting relief in the coming days as the price cuts trickle through from wholesalers to gas stations.

Unlike when gas prices surged in 2022, though, other states don’t appear to be moving in the same direction. That’s in part because states aren’t as flush with cash as they were immediately following the pandemic, when federal aid and tax revenues both surged.

The average gas price nationwide has risen from $2.93 a gallon on Feb. 20 to $3.91 a gallon Friday, motorist group AAA says. In Georgia, at least, that prompted a decision to dig into its declining savings account to give two months of relief, even if the savings could be obscured if oil prices continue rising.

Kemp said he wanted to “return taxpayer money where it belongs, in the pockets of hardworking Georgians.”

Officials estimate Georgia will forgo $360 million to $400 million in fuel taxes, which translates to $5 or $6 per tank for a typical passenger vehicle.

Those taxes are earmarked for roads and bridges, and the state will dip into its accumulated surplus to make up the loss for roadwork. It was part of a larger package of tax relief that also included state income tax rebates of $250 to $500 per household for anyone who filed a Georgia tax return in both 2024 and 2025. That $1.2 billion in rebates will also come from state savings.

All that money will get dished out in an election year when Republicans and Democrats are battling for control of swing-state Georgia. Republican-led efforts have given income and property tax rebates, plus multiple gas tax holidays, with all those givebacks valued at more than $9 billion since 2021.

Driven by factors including the war in Ukraine, other states joined Georgia in granting gas relief in 2022, including Connecticut, Florida, Maryland and New York, while Illinois and Kentucky delayed scheduled gas tax increases.

But Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday he has no plans to suspend the 23.5-cent gas tax, adding there is no “simple fix.” The Republican governor addressed the issue during a news conference in Bradenton, Florida.

“My answer is just get the cost down internationally, and that means having stable energy markets, making sure we’re doing everything to get our stuff to market,” DeSantis said. “But I don’t know that there’s going to be any simple fix.”

Republicans are pushing for a 30-day holiday in Maryland, but ruling Democrats are batting it down.

“Marylanders need real relief, not a 30-day gas tax suspension that would blow a $100 million hole in our transportation budget while we’re working to close Maryland’s budget shortfall,” said Ammar Moussa, a spokesperson for Democratic Gov. Wes Moore. “If Maryland Republicans are serious about lowering costs, they should pick up the phone and call Donald Trump and tell him to end this missionless war — instead of asking Maryland taxpayers to help pay for it.”

In Connecticut, Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont proposed a gas tax holiday earlier this month, but the idea has not yet advanced.

In Georgia, though, Republican officials sidestepped mentions of President Trump and the war, instead portraying it as part of their affordability agenda, trying to push back on Democratic pressure seeking to capitalize on popular discontent over prices.

“This isn’t an issue that we just discovered,” Kemp said. “It’s one we’ve been taking action on for years, in a strategic and carefully planned way, to help hardworking Georgians.”

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Associated Press writers Freida Frisaro in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Brian Witte in Annapolis, Maryland, contributed to this report.