Monday, Feb. 13, 2023
Would a Nevada gas tax holiday save families hundreds of dollars a year?
If Nevada suspended its state fuel taxes, a Nevada family with two drivers, each driving 14,000 miles per year at 24 miles per gallon (around the national average), would save $280 per year on gas or $327 on diesel.
Nevada’s state gas tax is $0.24 per gallon and the diesel tax is $0.28 per gallon; both are below the national average.
Gov. Joe Lombardo has called for a one-year suspension of state gas taxes to help struggling families. In 2022, four states temporarily suspended their state gas taxes after gas prices spiked following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Last year, President Biden and Congress proposed suspending federal gas taxes. The measures weren't enacted, but even if they had been, under Nevada law, any decrease in the federal gas tax must be offset by an increase in the state gas tax.
For any gas tax cut, oil companies would need to voluntarily pass the tax savings on to consumers.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
- Policygenius Average Miles Driven By State 2023
- US Department of Energy Fuel Economy by Vehicle Type
- US Energy Information Administration Gas Taxes by State
- Investopedia Gas Taxes and What You Need to Know
- White House FACT SHEET: President Biden Calls for a Three-Month Federal Gas Tax Holiday
- Congress.gov H.R.7926 - Federal Gas Tax Suspension and Windfall Profits Tax Act of 2022
- Nevada Independent 1997 Nevada law impeding gas tax savings
- PBS How Biden’s proposed gas tax holiday could alleviate pressure at the pump
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