As if gasoline prices aren’t high enough, a gas tax increase goes into effect Wednesday in California — and Stockton drivers will feel the pinch.
The tax increase adds 2.2 cents, for a total of 63.4 cents in excise taxes on every gallon of regular gasoline. The hike arrives as drivers continue coping with higher gas prices amid the fallout from Iran War.
On Wednesday, the average price of a gallon of regular gas in Stockton and Lodi was $5.25 a gallon, according to AAA’s daily fuel price survey. That’s down from $5.89 a gallon a month ago, but substantially higher than the $4.46 a gallon that drivers were paying a year ago.
While Stockton’s gas prices are less than those around the state — the overall California average was $5.41 a gallon in the AAA survey — it’s still harder to pay more at the pump for those already struggling to make ends meet.
The gas tax increase was automatic, the result of a 2017 law that tacks on increases due to inflation. It’s a system that doesn’t sit well with the Assembly’s minority leader.
“Like clockwork, we’re facing another tax increase on Californians,” Assemblymember Heath Flora, a Republican from Lodi, said in a statement on social media. “Families are already paying some of the highest gas prices in the country. Instead of raising taxes, we should be trying to make gas more affordable.”
The excise tax is only part of the cost, Republican lawmakers say. By the time all the taxes and fees are tacked on, motorists are paying $1.20 a gallon in excess of the regular cost of gas.
And it’s not just motorists who will get zapped. Gas station owners also say the automatic increases were a bad move.
“At a time when families are looking for relief, policies that further increase costs are a step in the wrong direction,” the Sacramento-based California Fuels & Convenience Alliance — the organization that represents fuel sellers — said in a statement.
The group is calling for “common sense” that could cut the cost of a fill-up. It lauds a bill sponsored by Assemblymember Rhodesia Ransom, a Democrat from Tracy, that would allow owners of eligible vehicles to install E85 conversion kits. The move would allow motorists to use fuels that have 5% more ethanol content than what is generally found at the pumps. E85 costs less than regular-grade gasoline.
“The bill would give Californians greater fuel choice by allowing drivers to fuel up with either gasoline or E85, giving them the flexibility to choose whichever fuel is more affordable,” the alliance said.