Gas taxes dip to all-time low

Inflation-adjusted numbers

Jon Boyd, Jul 12, 10.

Gasoline taxes this year are the lowest on record when adjusted for inflation, according to results of a study published by USA Today.

The AASHTO Journal writes:

Drivers this year are paying less than ever at the pump for upkeep of the nation’s roads—just $19 in gas taxes for every 1,000 miles driven, USA Today reported. That’s a new low in inflation-adjusted dollars—half of what drivers paid in 1975.

Americans spent just 46 cents on gas taxes for every $100 of income during First Quarter 2010, the newspaper found. That’s the lowest rate since the government began keeping track in 1929. By comparison, Americans spent $1.18 in gas taxes out of every $100 earned in 1970.

During the first quarter of this year, motorists were on track to spend an estimated $56 billion on federal, state, and local gas taxes, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. That’s down from $69 billion in 2000 after adjusting for inflation—even though Americans are driving more miles than they did a decade ago.

The federal gasoline tax is 18.4 cents per gallon. The State of Texas charges 20 cents per gallon - last raised by the Legislature in 1991.

(Photo credit: futureatlas.com)