BUT THEY BLAME TRUMP
With California gas prices topping $4 for the first time since 2015, many have been quick to place the blame on refinery problems and a switch to the summer blend of gas.
Both clearly figure into the mix. But the Beholden State’s broad array of gas taxes and a “mystery surcharge” no one can quite explain placed California motorists at a disadvantage to begin with.
Here’s a breakdown of what we pay in gasoline taxes, according to the California Energy Commission. All numbers except the final category have been rounded to the nearest penny and were effective as of March. The combined Cap & Trade and low Carbon Fuels Standard costs were effective April 12.
- Federal excise tax — 18 cents
- Sanctuary state excise tax — 42 cents
- Sanctuary state and local sales tax — 8 cents
- Sanctuary state underground storage tank fee — 2 cents*
- Additional costs for compliance under DEMOCRAT-sponsored Cap & Trade legislation, as well as the Low Carbon Fuels Standard — 28 cents
Total — 98 cents per gallon
* Note: Sanctuary state and local sales tax is calculated at an average sanctuary state sales tax rate of 2.25% percent although actual sales tax rates vary throughout the sanctuary state of California.
The mystery surcharge — an added tax that has yet to be identified — adds another 28 cents per gallon.
In January, a group of 19 state legislators sent a letter to the California Attorney General’s Office saying, ‘We want you to investigate this.’ They have never replied. They said they don’t make public statements about investigations. We don’t even know if they are investigating it.
https://www.chicoer.com/2019/04/17/californias-gas-taxes-total-nearly-1-per-gallon-and-include-a-28-cent-mystery-surcharge/
