CA Sends Gas Checks for $9.5B Without Lowering Tax

As gas prices rise throughout the country, Californians are being hit especially hard. But thanks to an almost $100 billion state surplus, they’ll see checks from the state government hit their bank account by October, Politico reported. That sounds fair. After all, Californians should get the surplus they paid into.

But Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan is little more than theater intended to benefit from the gas crisis, giving the Democratic governor a political win. The checks are touted as a way to relieve the gas burden on Californians, but residents will get up to $1,050 regardless of whether they own or drive a car.

And while the state budget calls for a $47 billion multi-year infrastructure and transportation package, as well as a pause in state diesel sales taxes for a year beginning on Oct. 1, drivers will still be paying a regular gasoline tax.

And even more, the gas tax increased on July 1, hitting 53.9 cents per gallon — a 5.6 percent hike. State officials say the state needed the gas tax hike to keep up with inflation, Politico reported.

California has the highest average gas price in the nation at $6.00, according to AAA.

California’s high gas prices are due in part to taxes and regulatory programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which added $1.27 to the cost of a gallon of gas last month, according to a calculation by the Western States Petroleum Association The New York Times reported.

About 40 percent of that cost comes from the state’s gas tax, the Times reported. California taxes fuel at 51.1 cents per gallon, the second-highest amount in the nation after Pennsylvania, according to the Federation of Tax Administrators.

Newsom’s rebate check to alleviate high gas prices is nothing but a political show. If he really wanted to help California drivers, he’d lower the tax. At the very least he could have prevented it from increasing.

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