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ONE-PAGER: White House’s ‘Gas Tax Holiday’ is a Gimmick

June 22, 2022

For a printable version of this one-pager, CLICK HERE.

Gas prices have more than doubled since President Biden took office, and now, despite pushback from congressional Democrats and former Obama-Biden advisers, he is urging Congress to enact a so-called “gas tax holiday” — which will not provide any relief for struggling families.

A Gas Tax Holiday Is Just a Gimmick:

  • Car owners would see approximately $7 in gas tax savings over the three month period, while truck owners would see approximately $10 in gas tax savings over the three month period.
  • A tiny and temporary 18 cents per gallon tax holiday will do little to address skyrocketing gas prices that are costing the average American household an extra $2,800 per year. 
  • Just this year, Americans will spend $5,000 on gas, a 78 percent increase from a year ago.
  • Nearly two thirds of Americans say rising gas prices have prompted them to cut household expenses, according to a recent survey.

Even Democrats Know a Gas Tax Holiday Won’t Ease the Pain at the Pump:

  • President Obama called the gas tax holiday a gimmick in 2008: “We’re arguing over a gimmick to save you half a tank of gas over the course of the entire summer so that everyone in Washington can pat themselves on the back and say that they did something.”
  • Former Obama-Biden White House economic advisor Jason Furman argued: “It would be very unlikely that gas prices would fall by more than a dime because of this change.”
  • House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) warned: “Suspending the 18.4 cents per gallon federal gas tax is not going to give consumers significant relief—if any at all…”
  • Economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman dismissed a gas tax holiday when it was proposed in 2008: “It’s Econ 101: The tax cut really goes to the oil companies.” 

Democrats Have Worsened the Energy Crisis & Their Gimmicks Aren’t Helping:

  • The first step President Biden took in office was canceling the Keystone XL pipeline and freezing leases for new exploration.
  • In May 2022, the Biden Administration canceled oil and gas lease sales in Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico.
  • The Biden Administration has touted their easing of restrictions on E15 gasoline as a way to address high energy costs. If Americans are able to find the E15 (which is sold at less than two percent of gas stations across the country), they will get five percent less fuel mileage. 
  • The Biden Administration also drained our Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to its lowest level since 1987.

Democrats’ Tax Hikes Would Push Prices Even Higher:

It’s Time to Unleash American-Made Energy:

If the White House wanted to get serious about addressing 40-year high inflation and the skyrocketing price of gas, they would stop the gimmicks and work with Republicans to address rising energy costs by:

  • Abandoning their plans to impose crippling tax hikes on Main Street businesses and working families, including their proposal to impose $145 billion in tax hikes on American energy companies, workers, and consumers;
  • Unleashing domestic energy production by easing regulations;
  • Ending the Biden Administration’s trade moratorium to sell more American goods overseas.

For a printable version of this one-pager, CLICK HERE.