Indiana Suspends Gas Sales Tax Amid US–Iran War

Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Indiana has suspended its gas sales tax for 30 days as prices keep rising amid the United States’ war with Iran.

Gov. Mike Braun announced the suspension on April 8.

“I am declaring a gas tax holiday to give Hoosiers relief from the pain at the pump from high gas prices,” Braun said in a statement. “Affordability is my top priority.”

Indiana’s state gas sales tax, also known as its gasoline use tax, is 7 percent. A separate excise tax of $0.36 cents a gallon is not affected by the suspension.

The 30-day reprieve could be extended, Braun’s office said.

Indiana officials are going to be “patrolling the pumps” to make sure that savings from the gas tax suspension go to Indiana residents, rather than retailers.

Braun also said the Indiana attorney general should enforce regulations prohibiting retailer price gouging.

“With the suspension of Indiana’s gas tax for the next 30 days, my office will closely monitor fuel prices to guard against any potential price gouging,” Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita said in a statement.

The United States attacked Iran in February, sending the price of oil soaring.

On April 7, Iran and the United States agreed to a two-week cease-fire.

Oil prices dropped below $100 a barrel in the wake of the cease-fire agreement.

The average price per gallon in Indiana on Wednesday was $4.13, slightly lower than the $4.16 nationwide, according to the American Automobile Association.

The average in Indiana a week ago was $3.96, and the average a month ago was $3.46.

“Many Americans have been concerned to see the recent rise in gasoline prices here at home,” President Donald Trump said in a speech on April 1. “This short-term increase has been entirely the result of the Iranian regime launching deranged terror attacks against commercial oil tankers and neighboring countries that have nothing to do with the conflict.”

Georgia’s governor was the first in the nation to suspend his state’s gas tax. Gov. Brian Kemp on March 20 signed a bill suspending the state’s gas tax for 60 days.

Georgia’s tax is typically 33.3 cents per gallon.

Kemp also signed a bill that authorized $1.2 billion in income tax refunds.

“Hardworking Georgians know best how to spend their money, not the government,” he said in a statement. “That’s why I’m proud to sign these bills and, along with the General Assembly, deliver meaningful tax relief on top of the other measures we’ve taken in recent years. Because we budget conservatively, we can take steps like these that actually deliver on affordability issues for families in our state.”