Keller @ Large: Why is Massachusetts reluctant to hold a gas tax holiday?
BOSTON -- "I'm still considering it," says President Joe Biden about the potential suspension of the 18-cent federal gas tax. "I hope I have a decision based on data I'm looking for by the end of the week."
The president knows sky-high gas prices are political poison. But the word out of Beacon Hill is there's no change in the legislature's refusal to temporarily suspend the state's 24-cent tax.
Back in March when the idea was first floated, they said it would endanger the bond rating on transportation projects the gas tax helps fund. But the bond rating agencies soon said no, it's not a problem for them.
Then, they dismissed it as a Republican stunt, but the passage of gas tax holidays by blue states like New York and Connecticut deflated that excuse.
And the last time legislative leaders addressed the issue two weeks ago, they offered this rationale: "There's nothing we can do to mandate if we decrease or suspend the gas tax that it actually goes into the pockets of those at the pump, because the oil companies can keep that gas tax and not pass it on," said Senate President Karen Spilka.
We asked Jonathan Shaer of the New England Convenience Store and Energy Marketers Association if that was true. "No, that's not true," he said. "Other states have looked at this as well and what they have done is they have mandated that the price the day after the implementation of the tax is reflective of the reduced tax, so there are ways to go about this. I know Connecticut did it and I think it went off pretty seamlessly. So no, the oil companies are outside of this altogether."
The Senate President did note correctly that right now gas prices in Connecticut are about the same as here, but a study by the University of Pennsylvania found there were savings realized by drivers there and in other states that did this for a significant portion of their tax holidays.
So why the reluctance to do it here, especially since the state is flush with cash?
The environmental lobby that wants to discourage fossil fuel use at all times might be part of it. And the truth is this is about political optics - do you want to be seen as trying to help drivers out or not, even if it's token help?
