(NSF/TALLAHASSEE, FL) – Prices at the pump for Florida drivers should go down Saturday as part of a temporary gas-tax break.
Under the measure, criticized by some Democrats as an election-year stunt by Governor Ron DeSantis and Republican lawmakers, motorists will avoid paying the state’s 25.3-cents-a-gallon gas tax in October.
The gas tax helps pay for transportation projects, and lawmakers directed 200 million dollars in federal COVID-19 stimulus money to make up for the lost tax revenue.
The gas-tax move was part of a larger tax package that DeSantis signed in May.
Dominic Calabro with the group Florida TaxWatch calls the discount much-needed relief, but he cautioned against making it permanent.
“It’s not a long term-solution. We really need that money to continue to build infrastructure and to meet the bond obligations of our road building.”
GOP legislative leaders said they decided to provide the tax break in October because it is a time when fewer tourists are in Florida than during other months.
(From The News Service of Florida)