Indiana Gov. Mike Braun announced a 30-day gas tax holiday extension to provide some relief for drivers.
The state’s gas tax is split in two parts. The gasoline usage tax was already previously suspended, and Braun announced Wednesday that he was extending that suspension for 30 days. The usage tax is 23 cents a gallon for the month of May.
Braun is also adding additional relief by suspending the excise tax, which is fixed at 36 cents for the year. In total, it’s 59 cents of savings per gallon of fuel.
NBC Chicago found drivers filling up their tanks in Lansing, Illinois, near the Indiana state line. How do they feel about the current prices?
“I think theyre outrageous. This is actually the highest amount that I’ve actually had to pay for gas, and this is one of the lowest prices for gas here,” said Robert Sanders, who lives in Illinois.
“I’m hopeful that they’re going to go down soon. We live in Indiana, and usually, I always get my gas there because they waive the taxes for now, but we’re coming over for a funeral,” said Kim Powers, who lives in Indiana.
“I think they’re way too high. I think it would be nice if Illinois lowered the taxes on the gas,” Chris Marchetti, who lives in Illinois. “I live actually right on the border, so I quite often cross the border for gas.”
Some groups have criticized pushes to suspend gas taxes, arguing that they rob infrastructure projects of funding, according to research published by the Tax Policy Center.
Most of Indiana’s taxes on fuel go into such infrastructure projects.
In Illinois, a constitutional amendment was passed that prevents transportation revenue from being used for any other purposes.
