News and Press Releases for May 2006
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05/16/2006
Gov. Sanford Joins Senate Members to Call for Gas Tax Relief
Governor, Senators Push for Gas Tax Suspension Before End of Session
Columbia, S.C. - Governor Mark Sanford today joined with members of the S.C. Senate to push for Senate passage of the governor's plan to suspend the state's 16.75 cent per gallon gasoline tax later this year as a way of providing immediate tax relief to South Carolinians. Last week, the governor was the first to call for the gas tax suspension from Memorial Day through Labor Day, and the S.C. House acted immediately by passing their own plan to suspend the tax starting in October. The governor today called on the Senate to follow his and the House's lead in passing gas tax relief, preferably during the summer time frame.
The Senate's budget currently doesn't contain any immediate tax relief for South Carolina families, and the governor said that with nearly $1 billion more coming into state government this year than last year, more needs to be done to return a dividend to the state's taxpayers.
"I'd give the House real credit for acting so quickly on our recommendation to give this important tax relief to South Carolina's families, and it's our hope that the Senate acts just as quickly in getting this to my desk," Gov. Sanford said. "We've said from the beginning of this budget process that with government growing by more than $900 million this year, the taxpayers shouldn't be left out of the equation. While I'd applaud the Senate for complete repayment of trust and reserve funds, we hope the Senate will act on this front to return more dollars to South Carolinians' pocketbooks and wallets by easing the pain at the pump this year."
Gov. Sanford's proposal to suspend the tax from Memorial Day to Labor Day would cost roughly $134 million - money that would be supplanted by other dollars in the state budget in order to fully fund road construction and maintenance.
The price of crude oil has increased 426 percent since 1998 and 36 percent from one year ago. This has translated into gas prices being at almost $3.00 a gallon compared to only $1.36 four years ago - or a 111 percent increase. It is costing the average driver $10 more every time to fill up at the pump than a year ago. In fact, the average household is spending $1,500 more on gas per year than just 18 months ago.