The federal gas tax holiday that some Democrats are floating wouldn’t save Americans much money at the pump — but it could do serious damage to President Joe Biden’s infrastructure promises.
It all comes down to simple math:
The federal gasoline tax adds 18.4 cents to the price motorists pay for every gallon of gas — adding up to less than $3 for Washington when someone fills a Toyota Camry.
But the gas tax also generates big money for the federal trust fund that pays for highway, tunnel and bridge projects across the country — and eliminating it for even part of the year would blow an enormous hole in those budgets. The new infrastructure investments that Congress approved last year rely on $43 billion in gas tax revenues for this year alone, and losing that money could hamstring one of the Biden administration’s signature achievements so far. Based on Congressional Budget Office estimates, the feds could forfeit more than $20 billion in tax receipts, assuming a holiday of about 10 months.
