and save yourself 2.5¢/gallon...of course, you'll pay 1¢ less in sales tax, so there's that

http://www.wral.com/news/state/nccapitol/story/9768121/

Quote :

"As consumers begin paying less tax on most things purchased at retail stores next month, they'll face even more pain at the gas pump. The state gasoline excise tax will rise by 2.5 cents per gallon to a record 35 cents starting July 1 — the same day the sales tax will go down by a penny statewide. The Republican-led Legislature was resolute in cutting the sales tax by letting the temporary tax expire on time, and it did so in the final budget law enacted last week with its override of Gov. Beverly Perdue's veto. Lawmakers didn't intervene on the gas tax, which is recalculated automatically every July 1 and Jan. 1 based on a formula that floats with wholesale gas prices. Capping the gas tax would have been politically popular as gas approached $4 a gallon this spring, but GOP legislative leaders couldn't agree on how to make up lost revenues the gas tax generates for road building, maintenance and other highway projects before ending this year's main legislative work session last weekend. "There wasn't a consensus about where to go on that," said Rep. Ric Killian, R-Mecklenburg, co-chairman of the House budget-writing transportation subcommittee. "You've got the citizens' perspective of what they're paying at the pump, but at the same time you have to maintain your infrastructure." House Speaker Thom Tillis said capping the tax would be studied by legislators in the months ahead. If a deal can be reached quickly, a cap could be considered by the General Assembly when they meet for a week later this summer for a session focused upon proposed constitutional amendments. Otherwise, it may not occur until next year. "We need to do it," Tillis, R-Mecklenburg, said in an interview. "We supported the capping before, and we need to get back to it." Senate leader Phil Berger, also supports a cap, his spokesman said. But there's been misgiving about capping the tax from the ailing road construction industry, advocates for drivers and other lawmakers who believe the extra revenues are more valuable to the state's economy and road system than short-term relief. Almost 60 percent of the $2.7 billion in state-generated transportation funds this year originated from motor fuels taxes, according to General Assembly documents. "Nobody likes to see gas prices go up, but capping the gas tax lacks foresight and would be a huge detriment to the state's infrastructure going forward," said Brendan Byrnes with the AAA Carolinas motor club, which opposes a cap. The state's motor fuels tax, currently at 32.5 cents a gallon, is adjusted based on a six-month average for gas and is designed to keep the tax's value from eroding. Raw materials for road construction and repaving are made with petroleum products, so the idea is higher taxes help cover the costs of higher construction materials when wholesale gas prices rise. Combined with a small state fee and the federal excise tax of 18.4 cents, North Carolina's current combined gas tax of 51.2 cents a gallon is the 13th highest in the country and second highest in the Southeast, according to the American Petroleum Institute. GOP lawmakers said keeping the tax low would have helped individuals and businesses still struggling in the recovering economy. "That was one thing that I think would have made an instant positive effect on everybody in the state," said Rep. Mike Hager, R-Rutherford, who sponsored a bill to limit the tax to 32.5 cents. Still, neither tax change should create great hardships or windfalls. The median North Carolina household is expected to save $88 a year with the sales tax decrease, while the average motorist will have to pay another $19 a year on fill-ups because of the gas tax increase, according to state officials. The state Department of Transportation is looking at potentially 1,100 highway construction projects between 2015 and 2020 that's expected to cost $45 billion but projecting only $9 billion to spend. Every additional penny on the gasoline tax generates about $50 million — enough to refurbish 345 miles of interstate lanes or replace 45 bridges, the DOT says. Christie Barbee, executive director of the Carolina Asphalt Pavement Association, said the road construction industry still faces unemployment rates of up to 30 percent. More people are likely to lose their jobs if a cap occurs and lost revenues aren't replaced, she said. Democratic leaders capped the gas tax at 29.9 cents a gallon in mid-2006 after high gas prices after Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita. The decision meant the state received $480 million less in gasoline taxes than had been allowed under the pre-2006 law. By mid-2009, the Legislature reverted to the variable rate. A proposal floated by Killian to cap the gasoline tax at 35 cents for the next two years would have phased out money the Legislature transfers annually from two dedicated transportation funds to operate the state Highway Patrol, to make up for $375 million in lost revenues. Sen. Clark Jenkins, D-Edgecombe, a former state Board of Transportation member, said he remembers in 2006 how petroleum marketers couldn't guarantee that capping or reducing would lead to a lower pump price. But the cap happened anyway. "It cost us a lot right money," Jenkins said. "I don't think the gas tax affects the price.""

6/30/2011 8:10:26 AM

TIL tomorrow is july 1st

6/30/2011 8:14:08 AM

I heard this on NPR this morning. It sucks because my tank is empty and a bunch of morons are going to make it so there's a line at the station this afternoon

6/30/2011 8:15:58 AM

^ ditto

6/30/2011 8:17:35 AM

So if I go and put 20 gallons in my car I will save a total of $.50. I never understand why people stress so hard over a few cents when it comes to gas.

6/30/2011 8:20:43 AM

while i'm generally anti-tax, i'm not sure capping the gas tax is the right thing to do here. and if the state's math is correct, with the decrease in the sales tax, the net result is already effectively a decrease in tax. However, I wouldn't mind a cap on how much the tax can increase each time

6/30/2011 8:26:21 AM

If you have a Shell card then yesterday (Wednesday) gasoline was 22 cents off per gallon since their sponsored NASCAR driver won last weekend.

6/30/2011 8:42:33 AM

I'm shocked that the sales tax is going down.

6/30/2011 8:44:02 AM

Quote :

"So if I go and put 20 gallons in my car I will save a total of $.50. I never understand why people stress so hard over a few cents when it comes to gas."

agreed...hence the thread title in all caps (it's THAT important!)

of all taxes, i support an increase in consumption taxes

of course, there's a marked difference between fuel and, say, blu-ray players in that fuel is arguably a necessity while the blu-ray player is not...if we had a better public transportation system, i'd say they tax fuel as much as they can...and things like food (some foods, anyway) should have little or no tax whatsoever

but i'm not trying to turn this into political/economics thread

6/30/2011 8:49:41 AM

Quote :

"I heard this on NPR this morning. It sucks because my tank is empty and a bunch of morons are going to make it so there's a line at the station this afternoon"

I don't think you'll have anything to worry about. Mainly b/c all the people stupid enough to actually do something like that are probably also the uninformed type so they're probably completely unaware of this.

I too support a gasoline tax. Our roads and bridges are crumbling, hence we have to pay to maintain them and build new ones.

6/30/2011 8:53:25 AM

semi-related - down in myrtle beach this past week I filled up my tank for $3.24/gallon

6/30/2011 8:53:58 AM

Quote :

"So if I go and put 20 gallons in my car I will save a total of $.50. I never understand why people stress so hard over a few cents when it comes to gas."

Yeah. I usually get 10 gallons, so $0.25. It's really ridiculous considering just this morning I saw gas for as low as $3.39 and as high as $3.55. Really makes the $0.025 insignificant if you just keep tabs on where to fill up.

Quote :

"I'm shocked that the sales tax is going down."

This. I remember when the combined (fed + state) sales tax was 5.5 cents. I felt for sure they were going for double digits.

Quote :

"I too support a gasoline tax. Our roads and bridges are crumbling, hence we have to pay to maintain them and build new ones."

Plus those pet projects the gas tax money gets diverted to don't pay for themselves.

[Edited on June 30, 2011 at 8:56 AM. Reason : -]

6/30/2011 8:55:18 AM

^naturally I'm against pet projects. But the Transportation Funds seem to be meddled with less than any other type of tax revenue. Not to mention politicians love road construction b/c it's a very good display government in action.

6/30/2011 9:00:58 AM

i fill up with dat 190% virginia corn/gas mixture when i head up to south boston

6/30/2011 11:07:50 AM

^ o lawd you goin to my hometown

6/30/2011 11:08:26 AM

Quote :

"So if I go and put 20 gallons in my car I will save a total of $.50."

$7.00 in taxes on 1 fill up... and your state is still broke.

I have a feeling if you give them $1 or $14 dollars, they'd still be broke because they don't know how to budget money according to income.

[Edited on June 30, 2011 at 11:10 AM. Reason : .]

6/30/2011 11:10:38 AM

apparently my country is broke too. is yours?

6/30/2011 11:17:01 AM

^^ didn't your last business close?

6/30/2011 11:18:55 AM

Yes, and 2.5 cent tax increase in one state ain't gonna fix it.

6/30/2011 11:20:12 AM

Quote :

"didn't your last business close?"

It closes nightly.

6/30/2011 11:20:45 AM

I don't understand why everyone slams this guy for being a small business owner

6/30/2011 11:23:56 AM

but i dont like mexican

6/30/2011 11:26:24 AM

Quote :

"I don't understand why everyone slams this guy for being a small business owner"

because he's a bad, whiny one? many of which have to blame the federal government for their ineptitude

6/30/2011 11:35:32 AM

Quote :

"$7.00 in taxes on 1 fill up... and your state is still broke. I have a feeling if you give them $1 or $14 dollars, they'd still be broke because they don't know how to budget money according to income. "

QFT

6/30/2011 12:01:51 PM

i got gas errday

I'm AstralAdvent and i approved this message.

6/30/2011 12:03:30 PM

I have a Pentagon Federal Credit Union account so I get dat 5% per gallon all the time. Couple that with the 15c off per gallon for getting a carwash with the fillup @Kangaroo on 55 in Apex, and i'm saving a bunch at the pump while my car is always clean.

6/30/2011 12:52:59 PM

it's 3.34 at sam's here, and 3.67 just down the street at bp & hess.

i heard about the gas tax thing, but not about sales tax going down. awesome

6/30/2011 12:56:35 PM

you arent saving money by getting the carwash. 6 dollar car wash would only be free if you bought 40 gallons of gas, otherwise you are just giving more money to the gas station and scratching your car up.

i really hope your comment was to troll

6/30/2011 1:43:23 PM

If you buy gift cards @ Kroger

Quote :

"You Can Earn Double Fuel Discounts on Gift Card Purchases and Pharmacy Prescriptions! (Not Available in All Areas. Select Your City for complete details.) The Kroger Family of Stores is making it easier for you to maximize your time, travel and savings. We're offering two new ways for you to save on fuel:"

You get double fuel discounts if you buy gift cards when you come into the store and turn around and use them to pay at the end and get more fuel discount. So that's a triple gas discount for spending money you'd already be spending.


I routinely buy 60 2-liters at kroger. They had a special for 89 cents for a 2-liter.


I feel like a bandit.



[Edited on June 30, 2011 at 2:33 PM. Reason : .]

6/30/2011 2:32:57 PM

60 2-liters? i'd rather not take 15 minutes to get my groceries from the store to my car

6/30/2011 3:09:46 PM

Quote :

"you arent saving money by getting the carwash. 6 dollar car wash would only be free if you bought 40 gallons of gas, otherwise you are just giving more money to the gas station and scratching your car up. i really hope your comment was to troll "

Nah it's a brushless/touchless wash, so it doesn't hasn't put a single scratch on it thus far.

and i buy 20 galllons of gas each time. Considering I only fill up twice a month at most, and wash my car everytime I fill up... it makes sense for me.

so no trollin' here bro.

[Edited on June 30, 2011 at 3:17 PM. Reason : .]

6/30/2011 3:13:16 PM

Quote :

"60 2-liters? i'd rather not take 15 minutes to get my groceries from the store to my car"

idgi

6/30/2011 3:15:18 PM

Quote :

"Nah it's a brushless wash, so it doesn't hasn't put a single scratch on it thus far. and i buy 20 galllons of gas each time. Considering I only fill up twice a month at most, and wash my car everytime I fill up... it makes sense for me. so no trollin' here bro."

point being that you are not SAVING any money, you are spending more. You are just justifying it in your head because they offer a discount.

Touchless carwashes suck, always leave a film. Didnt your dad ever tell you not to use drive thru car washes?

6/30/2011 3:24:35 PM

most peoples cars aren't good enough to give a fuck about anyway.

6/30/2011 4:41:21 PM

touchless carwash = washless carwash

6/30/2011 4:48:00 PM

I am gonna fill up today because I'm at half a tank and gotta make that 2 hour commute home for the weekend tomorrow.

That said you can save way more money if you use the gasbuddy website/app to check the local gas prices. Amazing how much the prices vary around here. The nearest gas station to me is the Kangaroo on Avent Ferry and right now they are charging $3.54/gallon. But I can go to S. Saunders and fill up for $3.31/gallon. For a 20 gallon fill that will save me $4.80. A couple of pennies ain't worth it but a few bucks every time you fill up can make quite a difference.

6/30/2011 4:59:39 PM

I had to fill up today because the lines were too long yesterday.

7/1/2011 9:13:09 AM

my scoot needed gas yesterday, so i got it for $3.39 (though gas buddy tells me i could have had it for $3.31 not too far away...not worth the extra drive for 3/4 gallon)...no lines

today gas is $0.10 more per gallon

7/1/2011 9:14:09 AM

So the republicans in this thread are fine with raising taxes
As long as it is the right that is doing it.

7/1/2011 11:43:10 AM

paid $3.22 in SC on the way back home. Fuck NC.

7/1/2011 5:13:50 PM