WVTF Radio: A gas tax holiday may not lead to savings for Virginia drivers

About a third of the savings will go to the oil industry, according to research into how this worked when Indiana and Illinois had a gas tax holiday. But that doesn’t mean Virginians will see the rest of the savings. Carl Davis at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy says a quarter of the savings will go to out-of-state drivers.

“A significant slice of Virginia’s gas tax isn’t paid by Virginians in the first place,” explains Davis. “It’s paid by tourists headed down to Williamsburg and Virginia Beach. It’s paid by truckers headed up and down I-81, passing along their higher transportation costs to, in many cases, out-of-state residents.” Read more