As Pennsylvania Fuel Taxes Rise, How Will Motorists Adjust?
By David Madden
HARRISBURG, Pa. (CBS) -- Pennsylvania's gasoline tax goes up by 9.8 cents per gallon as we turn the calendar to a new year.
When most people hear "tax increase," their blood pressure goes up. But maybe not this time.
Jim Lardear, with AAA Mid-Atlantic, suggests that the plummeting price of crude oil will ease the pain at the pump across the commonwealth.
"We're saving about 90 cents a gallon in Pennsylvania compared to the price for a gallon that we were paying last year," he notes, "so today's average in the Philadelphia region is $2.57 a gallon. One year ago it was $3.50."
By contrast, New Jersey's fuel tax is among the lowest in the nation, and the regional average for gas is $2.26 a gallon. New Jersey gas retailers say a lot of Pennsylvanians who work in the Garden State fill up before they head home.
