Policy Analysis | May 2013
Variable Gasoline Tax Rates
In the SLC, every state levies taxes on the sale of gasoline and diesel fuel. These taxes can be grouped into three main categories. The first and most common type of gasoline tax is the fixed-rate tax, collected as a flat amount per gallon purchased. Every state except Kentucky levies a fixed-rate tax, and 10 SLC member states rely exclusively on the fixed-rate tax. Some states levy a variable-rate gas tax, usually in combination with a fixed-rate tax. The most common type of variable rate tax is based on the price of gas. Florida levies a second type of variable-rate gas tax: most of the states's gas tax is tied to the Consumer Price Index – the value of a "market basket of goods" purchased by the typical consumer, adjusted for inflation.
Gas Tax Structures in SLC Member States
(click on headers to sort by column)
State | Fixed-Rate Excise Tax | Tax as Percentage of Price | Indexed to Consumer Price Index | Relevant Constitution or Statute Section |
---|---|---|---|---|
Alabama | Yes | No | No | Amendment 93 (Constitution) |
Arkansas | Yes | No | No | Sec 26 - 55 - 206 |
Florida | Yes | No | Yes | Title XIV Sec 206.46 (3) |
Georgia | Yes | Yes | No | Art. III Sec IX Par. VI (Constitution) |
Kentucky | No | Yes | No | Section 230 (Constitution) |
Louisiana | Yes | No | No | Art. 7 Sec 27 |
Mississippi | Yes | No | No | Title 27 Ch 055 Sec 11 |
Missouri | Yes | No | No | Art. IV Sec 30B (Constitution) |
North Carolina | Yes | Yes | No | Sec 136 - 16.8 |
Oklahoma | Yes | No | No | Sec 68 - 500.6(A)(3) |
South Carolina | Yes | No | No | Sec 12 - 28 - 2725 |
Tennessee | Yes | No | No | Sec 67-3-2001 |
Texas | Yes | No | No | Art. VIII Sec 7a |
Virginia | Yes | No | No | Sec 58.1-22 - 89 |
West Virginia | Yes | Yes | No | Art. 6 Sec 52 (Constitution) |
Sources: Building a Better Gas Tax: How to Fix One of State Government's Least Sustainable Revenue Sources, Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, December 2011, and Fueling Transportation Finance: A Primer on the Gas Tax, Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy, The Brookings Institution, March 2003.