Rising gas cost puts a strain on budgets
Written by Administrator   


Rising gas cost puts a strain on budgets of low and middle income Americans

As gas costs rise, politicians are falling all over themselves to look like they're concerned with the plight of ordinary Americans. They're angrily denouncing "Big Oil" for excess profits, price gouging and monopolistic behavior.

But they're ignoring the biggest price gouger of all: Big Government.

Tank The Gas Tax dot Com tankthegastax.com] is a new website dedicated to putting pressure on lawmakers to offer relief to consumers by repealing gas taxes. At the site, taxpayers can sign a national petition to urge politicians to take concrete action on rising gas prices. www.gas-cost.com



"Politicians find it far easier to blame the boogeyman than to find a real solution," says Tank The Gas Tax founder John Retzer. "What we need is real action, right now."

Consider: Despite all of the talk about its excess profits, Exxon makes just nine cents a gallon on its sales. The Federal government, on the other hand, collects 18.4 cents a gallon -- twice what Exxon makes.

The States also take more than their share. Michigan, for example, adds 19 cents per gallon, plus six percent in sales taxes. On a single three dollar gallon of gas, that takes the total in Michigan to 39.2 cents -- more than four times Exxon's supposedly excess profits.

California adds 18 cents, plus a 6 percent sales tax and 1.2 cents per gallon UST fees. New York adds 31 cents, plus sales tax. Under Florida's convoluted gas tax system, consumers pay as much as 52 cents per gallon in taxes.

Taxpayers can compare the gas tax burden across the fifty states with Tank The Gas Tax's state gas tax comparison charts.

"While reducing gas taxes is not a substitute for a real energy policy, it is a good way to ease the burden on low and middle income families," Retzer says. By lowering the taxes and thus, the price of gasonline, Americans on low and fixed incomes will no longer have to choose between driving and other necessities.

Tank The Gas Tax dot Com also offers taxpayers a forum for discussing the oil price crisis -- and to offer their own solutions.

"The best ideas are going to come from ordinary Americans," Retzer says. "There isn't a lot of common sense in Washington."

www.gas-cost.com

###


About the Press Release
As gas costs rise, politicians are falling all over themselves to look like they are concerned with the plight of ordinary Americans. They are angrily denouncing Big Oil for excess profits, price gouging and monopolistic behavior.


 
< Prev   Next >