WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Monday he will move to suspend the federal tax on gasoline to help Americans shoulder surging fuel prices caused by the Iran war.
The president cannot suspend the federal tax on his own. Congress would have to approve the move.
Lawmakers from both parties have pushed for a gas-tax suspension, saying it would provide much-needed relief for families and businesses that rely on their cars and trucks to get to work and school and run everyday errands.
As of Monday, the average national gas price was $4.52 a gallon, according to the AAA motor club, 50% higher than the average price of just under $3 a gallon before Trump began the war against Iran.
The federal tax is currently set at 18.4 cents per gallon on gasoline and 24.4 cents per gallon on diesel fuel, an amount that does not include state taxes, which often are higher.
Asked by reporters at the White House how long the tax should be suspended, Trump said, “Until it’s appropriate.” While the tax only adds about 18 cents per gallon to the price of gas, “it’s still money,” Trump said.
As gas prices have spiked, the Trump administration has released millions of barrels of oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve and temporarily lifted sanctions on some Russian and Iranian oil shipments already at sea. The U.S. is negotiating with countries reliant on Middle East crude to join a coalition to police the Strait of Hormuz, where about one-fifth of the world’s traded oil normally flows.
The gas tax provides more than $23 billion per year in revenue for federal highway and public transit programs.