Truck drivers and other motorists in Connecticut who use diesel fuel are paying a higher gas tax this month.
The Department of Revenue Services on July 1st set the diesel tax at 43.9 cents a gallon. That’s an increase of 2.2 cents.
The diesel tax rate is determined by a complicated formula based on an analysis of wholesale prices in both diesel fuel and gasoline during the prior 12 months.
Unlike the regular gasoline tax, Connecticut collects tax on diesel fuel even when drivers don’t actually stop and fuel up in this state.
That’s because Connecticut participates in an international diesel tax revenue-sharing arrangement between the lower 48 states and the Canadian provinces. The group divides the money based on the mileage records and fuel usage of multi-state truckers.
Connecticut’s diesel tax generated about $106 million in the 2016-17 fiscal year.
This was the first diesel tax hike in five years.
