Drivers brace for price increases as 74-day Georgia gas tax suspension ends

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - The time is up at 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday as Georgia drivers and gas station owners prepare for increased prices at the pump.

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed a bill suspending the state gas tax for 60 days, then extended it to help those driving during Memorial Day weekend.

“We wanted to push the gas tax out through Memorial Day because a lot of people were traveling, but we cannot do that forever,” he said.

A special session is planned for mid-June to continue discussions with the legislature about further assistance to Georgians.

“Our main thing was trying to get people relief to get them through the main travel rush,” he said.

The busy weekend has passed. People are back to normal operations. People are stopping by the pump, getting a little boost in their wallets -- saving 33 cents on regular and 37 cents on diesel.

GasBuddy’s Head of Petroleum Analysis Patrick De Haan said drivers shouldn’t expect to see a uniform increase from station to station on Wednesday.

“The average price will go up every day for the next few days as stations may pass this along at different paces depending on exactly how often they’re filling their underground storage tanks,” he said.

Stopping at busier gas stations could mean higher costs sooner, though, starting as early as 12:00 a.m. on Wednesday when the tax suspension officially ends. He anticipates the rest to follow by the weekend.

“Stations that sell higher volumes are likely to have to pass along sooner because they’re selling more gasoline, which means it might be harder for them to avoid having to buy new supplies at the tax rate,” he said. “By this weekend, you’ll probably be seeing most stations have raised prices 25-33 cents or so.”

Oil prices jumped again on Monday, which doesn’t help the costs.

Americans are continuing to keep tabs on the impact of the conflict in Iran.

De Haan said, “Prices could continue to increase in the weeks beyond as long as the Strait of Hormuz continues to be closed. That could continue to be impactful to gas prices far beyond the resumption of the state gas tax.”

As the gas tax has gone on and on, that meant less and less being funneled to the state’s revenue. Helping to fund road projects and transportation services through the Georgia Department of Transportation.

GDOT Commissioner Russell McMurry said the state collected $224 million in transportation fees through the end of April, $73 million less than expected.

“We’ll continue to track that and try to give you some data about what those numbers actually mean, but from a budget point of view, we are good, which is very important,” McMurry said.

Updated numbers are expected at the board’s next meeting on June 18.

“While my wallet loves gas tax holidays and I like paying less at the pump, the simple reality is that states that are waiving or suspending gasoline taxes are paying a significant price through the loss of revenue,” De Haan said.