Gas prices hike

Gas Prices! Which State Has the Highest Cost Thanks to Regulations and Taxes?

Craig HueyCalifornia

High gasoline prices hurt us all…

The poor and middle class suffer the most.

But fuel price increases also impact every business and every consumer … as the increasing costs of transportation – which add to the cost of production – are passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices for everything they buy.

In the past, Hawaii has always had the highest gas prices in the nation.

Not anymore.

California now has the highest gas prices. And its about to get worse.

On July 1, 2019, the California excise tax on motor fuels will increase by another 5 cents per gallon…

This follows on the heels of a 12-cent per gallon increase last year … and a 1-cent per gallon increase earlier this year.

But that’s not all…

On January 1, 2020, total state gasoline taxes could go up by as much as an additional 72 cents per gallon thanks to the 2013 California law on cap and trade … and a new additional adjustment for inflation.

Every April, California also sees an increase in gasoline prices due to:

  • Refinery shutdowns for annual maintenance
  • Refinery switchover from “winter blend” formulation to the “summer blend” formulation required by California state law

According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), the states with the highest average price for regular gasoline are:

  1. California: $4.016
  2. Hawaii: $3.586
  3. Washington: $3.424
  4. Oregon: $3.323
  5. Nevada: $3.323

And the states with the lowest:

  1. Louisiana: $2.543
  2. South Carolina: $2.533
  3. Arkansas: $2.533
  4. Mississippi: $2.520
  5. Alabama: $2.505

The national average price for regular gasoline is $2.83.

Compare that with California’s average price of $4.02.

What do you think? Email me at [email protected]

Here are the rest of this week’s articles: