The North Carolina General Assembly voted in favor of a gas tax holiday on Wednesday. The holiday would last until November 30.
Gov. Josh Stein still needs to sign the bill, the Relief at the Pump Act, but said he supports the measure. Both Democrats and Republicans voted in favor of the measure. The House voted 111-1, and the Senate voted 41-0 to approve the bill.
The legislation suspends the state’s tax of 41 cents per gallon on gas and diesel.
The bill designates any revenue lost by the N.C. Department of Transportation to be replaced by funds from the state’s Inflation Reserve.
The bill also allows farmers to use dyed diesel for highway travel in agricultural-related purposes.
“Farmers can’t stop their tractors because diesel is too expensive,” Rep. Allen Chesser (R-Nash) said in a statement. “They still need to harvest their crops and get them to market. And when it costs more to operate equipment, those costs get passed along to folks when they check out with their groceries. Every gallon of fuel matters to farmers this time of year, and this bill makes it easier for them to make a good living growing the food we all need.”
There’s also an 18.4-cent federal gas tax consumers have to pay for every gallon they pump. Diesel is taxed at 24.4 cents per gallon federally.
It comes as consumers have seen a major increase in both gas and diesel prices because of the ongoing Iran conflict. The United States has dug deep into its reserves since it began.
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Source: spectrumlocalnews.com
