Georgia gas tax to rise as suspension ends
The Georgia General Assembly passed legislation to suspend the state’s motor fuel tax back in March. Gov. Brian Kemp signed it into law and has been extending the suspension on a month-by-month basis.
Amy Sancetta / Associated Press file
This story was updated at 2:52 p.m.
Georgia’s gas tax suspension is scheduled to end Tuesday, Jan. 10.
The General Assembly passed legislation to suspend the state’s motor fuel tax back in March. Gov. Brian Kemp signed it into law and has been extending the suspension on a month-by-month basis.
When announcing the latest extension last month, Kemp said he would not go beyond Jan. 10.
In Georgia, motor fuel taxes are not paid to the state by your local gas station, but by fuel distributors.
So starting Jan. 11, those suppliers and wholesalers will begin charging motor fuel taxes.
The gap between when distributors pay for taxed fuel and when that fuel gets to your gas station will mean gas prices will go up based on where you fill up.
“Fuel wholesalers are delivering gas every day, and so depending how quickly a station needs gas, you’ll see that go into place almost immediately in some locations, and in some locations, it will take a day or so,” says Angela Holland with the Georgia Association of Convenience Stores.
State motor fuel taxes are going up in 2023 by two cents a gallon over last year’s rate for unleaded and diesel. That comes out to 31 cents a gallon for unleaded and 35 cents a gallon for diesel.
That is based on an annually adjusted formula that takes into consideration the fuel efficiency of vehicles registered in Georgia and the cost of highway construction.
The motor fuel tax suspension is expected to cost the state around $1.7 billion, but the governor and state lawmakers are expected to use some of the state’s massive surplus to backfill accounts used for road maintenance and projects.
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