Suspending federal gas tax wouldn’t save drivers as much as they might hope – here’s what goes into the price of a gallon of gas

Suspending the federal gas tax, which would require Congress to agree, would drop gas prices only about 4% – less in high-cost states like California.

By: Robert I. Harris, Georgia Institute of Technology, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: May 12, 2026

Words: 1,479

Last Updated: 2 months, 2 weeks ago

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By Robert I. Harris, Georgia Institute of Technology

With gasoline prices still high – averaging over US$4.50 a gallon in mid-May 2026 – President Donald Trump said he wanted Congress to suspend the federal gas tax, which is 18.4 cents a gallon for gasoline and 24.3 cents a gallon for diesel. A bill has been introduced in the Senate, and one is expected to follow in the House, according to Politico, but …

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