Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont is proposing a temporary state gasoline tax holiday to relieve drivers facing higher pump prices due to the war with Iran.
A temporary pause on the state’s 25-cent-per-gallon gas tax would save some money, considering the average pump price in Connecticut has gone up more than 50 cents a gallon since the beginning of the war, Lamont said on Tuesday.
“If you are doing 20 gallons a week, that would save you five bucks. And you do that over a month that saves you 20 bucks,” he said.
The money to cover a tax holiday would come from a $500 million energy rebate fund he’d already proposed.
“Fortunately, we have a bit of an energy rebate program. We figure by working with the legislature, how we can get that to work to help you sooner rather than later,” Lamont said. “And I hope the president is right that this war is going to be over very soon.”
He would talk to lawmakers about using an emergency bill to pass the tax holiday, the governor said.
The state Senate Republicans welcomed the governor’s proposal, but said in a statement that they would also like the emergency bill to include some of their proposals.
“We need all sorts of relief: on property taxes, income taxes, car taxes and electric bills,” the GOP minority statement said.
The last time Connecticut suspended its gasoline tax to provide relief for high fuel prices was for nine months in 2022.
