Click here to subscribe today or Login.
Andy Kovalik, of Swoyersville, is already unhappy about gas prices in Pennsylvania with the average price for a gallon of regular gasoline averaging $2.51 as on Tuesday.
While filling up at a local convenience store last week, he griped that prices in the state are already “about 49 cents higher than they should be.”
Unfortunately for Kovalik and other budget-conscious drivers in the state, gas prices are guaranteed to take another jump on Sunday when the state tax on gas jumps 8 cents per gallon.
With the increase, drivers will pay about 78 cents per gallon in taxes — up from just under 70 cents this year. In 2017, the state gas tax portion will be about 58 cents per gallon, while federal tax will take up 18.4 cents per gallon and an underground storage tank fee will be 1.1 cents per gallon.
The state’s wholesale gas tax funds road construction and infrastructure maintenance.
According to an Associated Press story, Pennsylvania has the nation’s fifth-largest road network, with more road miles than New York, New Jersey and all the New England states combined, said James May, a spokesman for the state Department of Transportation.
May said PennDOT has fixed thousands of structurally deficient bridges and boosted road construction spending by about $1 billion, paving the way for about 25,000 new construction jobs.
According to AAA Mid-Atlantic, Act 89 completely eliminated Pennsylvania’s 12-cent per gallon retail Liquid Fuels tax by uncapping the wholesale tax called the Oil Company Franchise Tax over a five-year period to make up for the lost 12 cents at the pump. The first two phases of the uncapping went into effect January 2014 and 2015, respectively.
In addition to the tax, AAA spokesperson Jana L. Tidwell said a recent decision by OPEC to reduce production of crude oil, makes it likely that the cost of gasoline will rise even higher.
Despite his dislike of the state’s gas prices, Kovalik said he won’t be curtailing the use of his Hummer.
“Our driving habits won’t be much impacted by the increase or future increases of gas,” he said.
Kovalik believes that the price of gas is directly related to the profit made by gas companies.
“I worked in a related industry for a while,” he said. “When the price of gas goes up, those companies make more money.”
Ryan Rachilla, of Forty Fort, said his driving habits will be affected by the price of fuel.
“When gas prices rise, I car pool if I can,” he said.
Bill O’Boyle contributed to this story.
