Georgia’s gas tax suspension extended again

ATLANTA — For the fourth time this year, Georgia’s governor will extend a suspension of the state’s gas tax.

Channel 2 Action News This Morning first broke the news Thursday. Gov. Brian Kemp’s office confirmed he will sign an extension later today ahead of the Labor Day weekend travel period.

The new extension will last until Oct. 12. The tax suspension saves Georgians about 30 cents per gallon for gas and 33 cents per gallon for diesel.

The governor’s office originally suspended the gas tax on March 18 and extended it on May 26, July 1 and August 3.

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Kemp has blamed Democrats in Washington for high gas prices, high inflation and supply chain issues.

“While these politicians continue to double down on bad policies, we are using the means available to us to provide much-needed relief to Georgians,” Kemp said. “As I’ve said since we first suspended the fuel tax back in March, we can’t fix everything Washington has broken, but we can use the resources we have as a result of our responsible budgeting to keep more money in the pockets of hardworking Georgians.”

Democratic opponent Stacey Abrams has said in previous statements that Kemp needs to commit to suspending it for the rest of the year, not trickle it out month by month.

“The very least the governor can do is give Georgia families the reassurance of knowing that the state gas tax will not be in effect for the rest of 2022,” Abrams said.

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Suspending that gas tax has not been cheap. Before the new extension, Channel 2 previously reported it has cost the state of Georgia nearly $500 million in revenue.

State leaders say, for now though, the state can afford it.

As of Wednesday, the average gas price in Georgia is around $3.37 a gallon, according to AAA. That is well below the $3.84 national average.

AAA says drivers are paying almost $7 less to fill up compared to a year ago.

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