Governor Kay Ivey on Wednesday criticized President Joe Biden’s comments calling on Congress to temporarily suspend the federal gas tax.
“Alabamians and Americans alike are hurting, and it’s a real shame President Biden is failing to address the problem,” Ivey said in a statement. “Folks across our state need relief, but I do not believe that relief will come through a fuel tax suspension at the federal or state levels.”
Biden called Wednesday for a three-month suspension on federal taxes on gas and diesel and urged states to do the same. In 2019, Ivey signed a bill increasing Alabama’s gas tax to 28 cents per gallon, which has been met with criticism from a segment of Alabama Republicans.
According to AAA, Alabama’s current average price for a gallon of gas is $4.54, nearly double last year’s average of $2.79 a gallon.
The IRS last week raised the standard mileage rate 4 cents to 62.5 cents per mile for the remainder of 2022 in response to the higher prices at the pump.
“We are aware a number of unusual factors have come into play involving fuel costs, and we are taking this special step to help taxpayers, businesses and others who use this rate,” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig.
Ivey blamed Biden’s energy policies for the crisis at hand and said America needs a more permanent solution.
“President Biden could not be more hard-headed on the issue of American energy independence, but he campaigned on that, so, it comes as no surprise to me,” Ivey said. “He is closing pipelines with the stroke of a pen. Here in our neck of the woods, the Gulf of Mexico is currently in a moratorium with no lease sales being held, which impacts both our oil and gas industries, as well as the Alabama consumer. He is pointing his finger at the oil industry and is looking anywhere else but home. There is also no certainty that Americans will feel even temporary relief from this band-aid approach. Let’s be clear: We need a permanent solution.
“The Biden Administration is seeing bad poll numbers, and they’re scrambling. This is a gimmick, plain and simple.”
