Note, this node is Americentric in nature and reflects the most current information I could lay my hands on. Noders from other countries are encouraged to chime in with their own perspective on the soaring price of gas.
With the Mideast in turmoil it should come as no surprise that people here in the States are going to wind up paying more at the pump than they’re used to. Oil speculators are driving up prices and countries such as Libya are cutting back supplies and the rest of the Arab world doesn’t seem interested in increasing production in order to make up for the difference.
Naturally those fine folks at the We report, you decide network have found a way to lay the blame at the footsteps of President Obama. Bill O’Reilly recently claimed that Mr. Obama actually wants to keep the price per gallon high since it would increase the federal tax revenue generated by sales to the public.
Bill O’ Reilly is wrong.
The current amount of federal tax for each gallon of gas sold in the United States is 18.4 cents per gallon and has nothing to do with the fluctuating price of the gas itself. In fact, the opposite could very well hold true. As the price of a gallon of gas goes up people will be less inclined to drive and therefore federal tax revenues on a per gallon basis will go down rather than up.
On the other hand, some states also reserve the right to charge a sales tax based on the actual amount of gas sold.
Here’s a look at each of the fifty states and what they charge on a per gallon basis. This does not include any other state, municipal or local charges that might be in effect.
Alabama – 18 cents per gallon
Alaska - 8 cents per gallon
Arizona - 18 cents per gallon
Arkansas - 21.5 cents per gallon
California - 35.3 cents per gallon
Colorado - 22 cents per gallon
Connecticut -25 cents per gallon
Delaware - 23 cents per gallon
Florida - 16 cents per gallon
Georgia - 7.5 cents per gallon
Hawaii - 17 cents per gallon
Idaho - 25 cents per gallon
Illinois - 19 cents per gallon
Indiana - 18 cents per gallon
Iowa - 21 cents per gallon
Kansas - 24 cents per gallon
Kentucky - 24.5 cents per gallon
Louisiana - 20 cents per gallon
Maine - 29.5 cents per gallon
Maryland – 23.5 cents per gallon
Massachusetts - 21 cents per gallon
Michigan - 19 cents per gallon
Minnesota - 27.5 cents per gallon
Mississippi - 18 cents per gallon plus
Missouri - 17 cents per gallon
Montana - 27 cents per gallon
Nebraska - 27.1 cents per gallon
Nevada - 23 cents per gallon
New Hampshire - 19.63 cents per gallon
New Jersey - 10.5 cents per gallon
New Mexico -18.9 cents per gallon
New York - 24.5 cents per
North Carolina - 31.9 cents per gallon
North Dakota - 23 cents per gallon
Ohio - 28 cents per gallon
Oklahoma - 17 cents per gallon
Oregon - 24 cents per gallon
Pennsylvania -31.2 cents per gallon
Rhode Island - 32 cents per gallon
South Carolina - 16 cents per gallon
South Dakota - 24 cents per gallon
Tennessee - 21.4 cents per gallon
Texas - 20 cents per gallon
Utah -24.5 cents per gallon
Vermont -24.9 cents per gallon
Virginia - 17.5 cents per gallon
Washington - 37.5 cents per gallon
West Virginia - 32.2 cents per gallon
Wisconsin - 32.9 per gallon
Wyoming - 14 cents per gallon
In closing, nobody likes to pay taxes. I myself look at them as a sort of a necessary evil but for those of you who have a hatred of the federal government you might want to take a look closer to home when it compares to the federal average of 18.4 cents per gallon.
Update
Some people have taken me to task regarding the O'Relly quote and taking it out of context. In the interest of fairness here's what he said.
O'REILLY: The higher gas at the pump is, the more federal dollars, yeah, the more money the feds get. So I mean they're -- so I mean some cynical people are going, look Obama doesn't want the price to go down because Washington is getting more money from the taxes at the pump.
I report, you decide...
Source
http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/petroleum_marketing_monthly/current/pdf/enote.pdf