Apr
McCain: Suspend Gas Tax for Summer
To help people weather the downturn immediately, McCain urged Congress to institute a “gas-tax holiday” by suspending the 18.4 cent federal gas tax and 24.4 cent diesel tax from Memorial Day to Labor Day. By some estimates, the government would lose about $10 billion in revenue. He also renewed his call for the United States to stop adding to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and thus lessen to some extent the worldwide demand for oil.
Combined, he said, the two proposals would reduce gas prices, which would have a trickle-down effect, and “help to spread relief across the American economy.”
It is certainly an interesting proposal. As gas prices rise, people forget that the government could reduce their tax rather than chastising and investigating the oil companies. That would certainly help reduce prices. I don’t see this happening, since it would prevent the federal government from collecting $10 billion, but we will see if it spurs any tax relief.
