This Monday, Gov. Ned Lamont and the General Assembly are expected to vote during a special legislative session on whether to extend the 25-cents per gallon gas tax holiday, which expires Dec. 1. Waived last spring, policymakers are poised to reimpose the full tax, incrementally raising the tax 5-cents per gallon to full effect by April 1, 2023.The haste with which politicians are rushing to reimpose the tax is bewildering, and only raises concerns that the suspension was driven by the election schedule — not by the very real needs of Connecticut’s people. With average gas prices in Connecticut teetering at $3.65 today (which is up $0.22 last month); home heating oil approximately 70% higher than at this time last year; and monthly United Illuminating and Eversource electric bills expected to increase by more than $80 this winter, we call on Gov. Lamont and policymakers to extend the full gas tax cut. As family budgets are stretched thin by the skyrocketing costs of groceries and staying warm — and after an election season full of optimistic statements about the state budget — surely the legislature can curb its impulse to tax Connecticut’s people to the max as the holidays approach. Instead of another fee at the pump, Connecticut residents should be free to focus on the things that matter this time of year: family, friends, charity and good will to all — and maybe even some more presents for their children.
Yankee Institute calls on lawmakers to pass legislation extending the gas tax holiday, delaying the phase-in of the tax until at least spring of 2023.
— Carol Platt Liebau Yankee Institute President
About Yankee Institute
Yankee Institute is a research and citizen organization founded in 1984 under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Service Code. YI is committed to empowering Connecticut’s people to forge a brighter future for themselves and their families.
