Georgia restoring 30 cent gas tax, but there’s a silver lining

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Gasoline costs stay beneath $3 per gallon throughout the state, however that would all change Tuesday evening.

The fuel tax suspension that has been protecting Georgia’s costs low is ending, that means fuel costs ought to rise by about 30 cents a gallon.

Even then, Georgia’s value is anticipated to remain beneath the nationwide common.

On Tuesday, Georgia’s common value was $2.81, whereas Augusta’s common value was $2.88. Add 30 cents and that will be $3.11 for Georgia and $3.18 for Augusta.

Each of these costs are nonetheless nicely beneath Tuesday’s nationwide common of $3.27.

Right here’s some extra excellent news in at the very least the quick time period: AAA expects an finish to the current surge in fuel costs blamed on chilly climate and vacation journey. Whereas the nationwide common value rose day by day beginning on Christmas Eve, costs flattened and fell by a penny over the weekend.

“As we head towards February, pump costs will seemingly dip, barring any jolt within the international oil market,” mentioned Andrew Gross, AAA spokesperson.

Don’t get too used to it, although. Gross says they’ll seemingly rise later.

In March, the Georgia Common Meeting handed laws to droop the tax that the state collects on every gallon of gasoline. It was a transfer lawmakers made after gasoline costs spiked drastically throughout the nation after Russia invaded Ukraine.

Gov. Brian Kemp stored extending that suspension month after month, doing it one final time in December to assist households offset the price of vacation spending.

Although Georgia missed out on $1.7 billion in revenues, the state ended the 12 months with a $6.6 billion surplus.

Dr. Michael Toma, an economics professor from Georgia Southern College, says he doesn’t anticipate any impacts on the state’s financial system as a result of misplaced income from the fuel tax suspension lasting so lengthy.

“It has a reasonably sturdy wet day or reserve fund, and I don’t anticipate that the state authorities would expertise a budgetary downside all through 2023, so I feel the state is on very sound fiscal floor. I don’t anticipate any headwinds from the financial system on that,” Toma mentioned.

We spoke with two native companies about what this might imply for them.

Onnie Sanford has lived in Augusta for almost 17 years. For her small companies, Opp Kitchen and Paleo Num Yums, the suspension means studying to pivot and in the reduction of.

“It’s important to take into consideration the place you’ll be able to reduce costs as a result of it goes all the way in which again to, you understand, you don’t have the meals, you’ll be able to’t have the enterprise, and that every one depends on fuel costs,” she mentioned.

Brent Slagle is the proprietor of Flowers on Broad. He says deliveries make up 70% of their revenue. The fuel tax suspension gave them some reduction on the rising prices of every part, however he tells us he worries they could have to boost their costs.

“Our enterprise can solely take up a lot earlier than now we have to move them to the purchasers. We hope that that doesn’t come to that, however with this now, you by no means know,” mentioned Slagle.

Sanford says she hopes for stability within the costs of products and fuel.

“I like consistency in my enterprise. I don’t need to preserve flip-flopping backwards and forwards. I’d like to say, ‘oh, we’re doing deliveries.’ However now fuel costs are going again up. Now we have to take deliveries away,” she mentioned.

Slagle will take further steps to get cheaper fuel from right here on out.

“We’ll be having to analysis and discover out precisely the place the most affordable fuel is the place now we have to go,” he mentioned.

The excellent news, Augusta’s common fuel value with the added tax continues to be a lot decrease than the nationwide common.

From experiences by WRDW, WANF, and WTOC

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