It’s summer. People are beginning to travel more as the sunny season continues, and many taking road trips are asking themselves, “Why is gas getting so expensive?” with perhaps a few words we aren’t mentioning.
Well, this map shows that a good amount of the gas earnings goes to, surprisingly, state and federal taxes. See below:
This means that the federal excise tax is 18.4 cents per gallon. The rest of the taxes depend on the state and therefore varies by state around the US.
So, what are the most expensive states to travel in this summer based on their state taxes? New York at $0.505 and California at $0.4978. Strangely, the two states with the lowest taxes are New Jersey at $0.145 (New York’s neighbor), and Alaska at $0.124.
If we show this in a percentage breakdown, based on current average gas prices nationwide which is $3.678 (via API.org), the price for a gallon of gas (via energyanswered.org) is:
67% for crude oil
13% for taxes and fees
10% for transportation and retailing costs and profits
10% for refining costs and profits
Do not lose this point! The total costs and profits for everything except the oil is shown to be just slightly larger than the amount that goes to state and federal taxes.
What does this mean? No matter how you look at it, the majority of your gas money is going its way to state capitols and Washington D.C. These chunks of money are even more than the gas companies themselves make! Unbelievable.
What do you think about this? SHARE this astounding news with everyone you know and get their opinions!
