by Nathan Keeble
Mises.org
Since 1993, the federal government has levied a gas tax of 18.4 cents per gallon. State governments also set and levy their own gas taxes. All considered, Americans pay an average of 54.21 cents per gallon of gas in taxes. That’s quite a shocking number, especially in comparison to what shop owners, the people who are actually providing this essential good, are making. That number is just an average, too. Some state taxes on gasoline are drastically higher. For instance, state gas taxes in Pennsylvania are an outrageous 51.4 cents per gallon, meaning that Pennsylvanians are paying nearly 70 cents a gallon to governments. Many can remember a time when that was nearly the entire price for fuel!
One can be forgiven for being unaware of how large these gas taxes have become, as they are applied rather sneakily into prices rather than added at the time of purchase like other sales taxes.