Connecticut Republicans called Wednesday for suspension of the state’s retail taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel through Dec. 31, a break that would save motorists a collective $54 million per month.
But Gov. Ned Lamont and Democratic legislators counter-challenged the GOP to acknowledge one of the chief factors driving prices at the pump, the U.S. war with Iran begun under President Donald Trump’s administration on Feb. 28.
“The governor saw this coming. Democrats saw this coming,” House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora, R-North Branford, wrote in a statement released midday. “They talked about it in March and then did nothing.”
State Sen. Ryan Fazio of Greenwich, the Republican gubernatorial nominee, said it’s not enough for Lamont to say he raised the prospect of a gasoline tax holiday with the legislature seven months ago.
“He is the governor of the state of Connecticut,” Fazio said. “He has the ability to lead and the responsibility to act. If I were governor and said I wanted to provide relief for Connecticut families, I would act on the things I said I wanted to do.”
The Republican plan would suspend the 25 cents-per-gallon retail tax consumers pay on regular gasoline, and the 49.9 cents-per-gallon levy placed on diesel fuel.
Based on current estimates from state fiscal analysts, those two taxes generate about $42 million and $12 million, respectively, each month.
The GOP plan would not eliminate a third fuel-related tax. Connecticut imposes an effective rate of 8.81% on wholesale transactions involving gasoline and certain other fuels, but not diesel. Based on recent wholesale prices and a capping mechanism, the tax adds another 26.4 cents-per-gallon to the cost of gasoline — an expense retail stations build into the price charged to motorists.
The AAA reported an average retail price Wednesday of $4.48 per gallon for regular gasoline, which is up 28 cents from one month ago. It also reported an average retail price of $6.48 per gallon for diesel, up 78 cents from late August. Diesel set a record high in Connecticut two days ago at just under $6.50.
Democrats said the GOP was noticeably quiet about what has caused higher fuel prices.
“If Republicans have a problem with the price of gas and diesel, they should march their way down to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. and talk to the head of their party, who sits in the Oval Office, about why he started this pointless, illegal war that has raised gas prices by over 40%,” state Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, said. “Voters know Donald Trump is to blame for high gas and diesel prices, and Republicans can’t hide from that.”
House Speaker Matt Ritter, D-Hartford, added, “We all need to face the reality that state action would minimally impact fuel prices — fuel costs are heavily driven by federal policies.”
Lamont noted fuel tax receipts are one of the chief revenue sources for Connecticut’s Special Transportation Fund which not only supports the state's Department of Transportation operations, but pays the debt service on the more than $1 billion the state borrows annually to maintain its highways, bridges and rail lines.
“If they want to, you know, forgive the gas tax, just tell me how we keep up our roads and bridges,” the governor added.
But Republicans counter that the transportation fund is flush with cash — partly because of actions Lamont and Democratic lawmakers took last spring.
The $2.4 billion transportation fund is on pace for a 9% surplus, a cushion of nearly $210 million. A three-month holiday would cost about $162 million, still leaving the fund in the black.
One reason for that cushion is that the governor and legislators held onto $100 million from last fiscal year’s transportation fund surplus, rather than allowing the treasurer to use it to pay down bonded debt tied to infrastructure projects.
“Let’s get this [fuel tax holiday] done for middle-class families and job creators,” said Senate Minority Leader Stephen Harding, R-Brookfield. “And this shouldn’t be partisan: We invite Connecticut Democrats to join us in providing this relief for people.”
CT Mirror reporter Ginny Monk contributed to this story.
This article first appeared on CT Mirror and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
