However, we must not forget that state governments and in some cases local government have added a massive burden via taxes on gasoline and diesel at the pump. The arguments in favor of higher taxes at the pump abound. The reasons may appear to be logical at the time but the fact is that like taxes on food, fuel taxes are very regressive and hit lower income families the hardest. And as the economy slumps, we all are feeling more of the pain.
But things are actually far worse at the pump!
Once the fuel taxes are collected, there is little opportunity for accountability on the use of the money collected. Obviously, there are a myriad of arguments by politicians for fuel taxes. That is not the point of these comments. In today's economy, travel by middle to low income families has become more restricted due to the economic slump which has been "fueled" by higher gas prices. And the higher fuel costs includes the taxes paid at the pump. Because of the higher prices at the pump, people are also forced to pay more for food, clothing, goods and services, and even mowing their grass.
Consider the following pictured embedded taxes (data as of July, 2012) that you pay to be able to get to and from work, to be able to go to and from the store, or to even mow your grass. Then consider that these taxes are also embedded in the cost of the products and service you buy. The cost of fuel including these taxes paid by businesses (both small and large) are embedded in the cost of production, transportation, and marketing / selling of a products and services. You paid taxes at the pump for your own fuel. Next, you have the privileged of paying a sales tax on the fuel costs -- including the fuel taxes -- paid by others relative to the product or services you purchased. Thus, you (we) pay an embedded tax on taxes.
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by Amy Payne, Morning Bell, Heritage: Unemployment is at 8.3 percent. The economy is sputtering at 1.5 percent growth. Food prices are rising due to drought conditions across the country. And gas prices are up again, pinching Americans’ summer budgets. It is past time for the President and Congress to pursue smart policies that would put us on a path to relief.
According to AAA’s Fuel Gauge Report, the current national average for regular is $3.66 per gallon. That’s up 28 cents per gallon from a month ago, and July had its biggest price jump since AAA started tracking prices in 2000.
There are many factors affecting prices that we cannot control—worldwide tensions, especially in the Middle East, can drive up oil prices. Global demand, especially from China and India’s rapidly growing economies, continues upward.
But after three years of adding regulatory hurdles and blocking exploratory access and development, President Obama’s policies are helping keep prices higher than necessary.
If the President truly wanted to lower gas prices, he would work to increase supply. But when given the opportunity, he has done the opposite. He turned down the Keystone XL pipeline, which would bring up to 830,000 barrels of oil per day from Canada. His Administration has made it even harder for companies to explore and extract domestic energy resources by canceling, delaying, or withdrawing a number of lease sales for exploration and development. Meanwhile, huge swaths of federal lands have been put off limits for energy exploration.
Domestic refinery outages have had a recent impact on gas prices. Two of the factors holding back domestic energy production are regulatory red tape and litigation—and these, we can do something about. As Heritage’s Nicolas Loris notes:
Environmental activists delay new energy projects by filing endless administrative appeals and lawsuits. Creating a manageable time frame for permitting and for groups or individuals to contest energy plans would keep potentially cost-effective ventures from being tied up for years in litigation while allowing the public and interested parties to voice opposition or support for these projects.We don’t have to stand still. Congress could alleviate the energy crunch in 10 different ways by taking action on things we can control, like restrictions on oil shale development and offshore drilling.
One of the most common objections is that increasing domestic oil production takes too long and would not impact the market for at least a decade. The longer people make this argument, however, the longer it will take. The sooner we make investments in domestic energy, the sooner those benefits will be realized. And with some serious reforms, some of this oil can reach the market in much less than a decade.
Gas prices aren’t under the control of any one President. But Americans shouldn’t settle for policies that restrict oil exploration, refining, and production and artificially drive prices higher.
Tags: the economy, economic slump, domestic energy production, energy prices, gas, gas prices, gasoline, diesel, higher gas prices, taxes, price at the pump To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
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