With Pennsylvania’s gas tax the highest in the country at 57.8 cents per gallon, a group of U.S. Senators has proposed cutting gas taxes through the end of 2022, writes Harri Leigh for FOX 43.
However, Matt McMahon, an assistant professor of economics at West Chester University, said it would do more damage than good.
“Our highway infrastructure and other infrastructure in this country is currently in disrepair to a level that we haven’t seen in two, three, four generations,” said McMahon. “So, we should really be investing in infrastructure, not cutting its funding at this point.”
Cutting the gas tax helps consumers temporarily, but hardly benefits externalities because it is a short-term solution.
Suspending the tax through the end of the year would save drivers around $8 a month, yet it would cost the federal government $20 billion through the rest of the year.
McMahon suggested that the gas tax has such a small effect on inflation rates compared to rates during events like the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Read more of WCU professor Matt McMahon’s perspective on gas tax at FOX 43.
