Why Trump’s plan to drop gas tax may leave U.S. drivers feeling empty

U.S. President Donald Trump is finally acknowledging the financial pain that many Americans are feeling from the soaring cost of gas, but his plan to pause the federal fuel tax may not bring the kind of impact either he or drivers hope for.

Trump said Monday he wants a temporary pause on the federal gas tax, a move that requires an act of Congress.

The U.S. federal tax on a gallon of gasoline is 18.4 cents, a mere fraction of the current national average price at the pumps of $4.52 US a gallon, according to travel services agency AAA.

That national average is up 50 per cent since the U.S.-Israel war with Iran began at the end of February, an increase of $1.54 US per gallon over a stretch of just 10 weeks.

Even Trump is acknowledging that cutting the tax will knock relatively little off the price.

“It’s a small percentage, but it’s, you know, it’s still money,” he said Monday.

As gas prices have risen, Trump’s polling numbers have fallen. With less than six months to go until the midterm elections that will determine whether the Republicans lose control of Congress for the second half of Trump’s term, the White House is feeling the urgency of dealing with inflation.

Recent U.S. polling by Ipsos Public Affairs for Reuters news agency found more than three-quarters of respondents blamed Trump for the gas price spike.

Polling shows ‘broad concerns’ over economy

The price increase is absolutely a factor influencing people’s views of the president, says Alec Tyson, the Washington-based lead pollster for Ipsos.

“It’s seen as a consequence of the conflict in Iran, which was a step or an action that the administration chose to take, and in that sense, Americans are saying the Trump administration bears responsibility,” Tyson told CBC News.

He says the trouble for the Republicans is that the price of gas is only one factor in Trump’s slumping approval rating.

“Suspending the gas tax, it’s generally a popular idea, but that’s different from saying that it’s going to go all the way to improving the president’s standing on the economy or cost of living, where Americans really have some broad concerns at the moment,” Tyson said.

The Ipsos poll surveyed a nationally representative sample of 4,557 U.S. adults, including 3,577 registered voters, from an online panel. The poll was conducted April 15 to 20 and the data was weighted to adjust for demographics and political party identification.

Outside a service station in Washington, D.C., CBC News asked Oz Mangrum who he blames for the high price of gas.

“I think it is the big guy down the street in the White House, but hopefully he can fix it soon,” said Mangrum, a hotel manager. 

Mangrum said the cost of filling up is prompting him to consider dire measures.

“I am spending $60 to $80 every single time, which is kind of unrealistic after a while,” he said. “I’m thinking about getting a bike.”

Shortly after Trump called for suspending the gas tax, a pair of Republican lawmakers, one in the House and one in the Senate, announced plans to put forward bills to make it reality.

When asked how long he would like to see the tax paused, Trump replied: “Until it’s appropriate.”

A pause would cost the U.S. Treasury about $3.5 billion a month, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a non-profit policy analysis organization.

The U.S. federal tax of 18.4 cents per gallon of gas and 24.4 cents per gallon of diesel has not changed since 1993, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office.

In Canada, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government suspended the federal excise tax on gasoline (10 cents per litre) and diesel (four cents per litre) in mid-April, effective until Labour Day.

At the current exchange rate, 10 cents Cdn per litre is the equivalent of 27.6 cents US per gallon.