Anyone who has been to the gas pump in the last 90 days knows how expensive it is. Prices are sky high, and the price of diesel fuel is at record levels. Virginia cannot control foreign policy that relates to supply and demand of fuel, but we can control how we tax it. Families and businesses need relief, and it is within the power of the Commonwealth’s government to give it to them.
High fuel prices hurt everyone. In one way or another, each of us relies upon motor fuels in our day-to-day lives, whether directly or indirectly. When prices are high, the financial squeeze is felt even beyond the pump. To help ease the burden on Virginians, House Republicans are calling for a 90-day suspension of the Commonwealth’s statewide motor-fuels excise tax on gasoline and diesel.
Virginia’s current excise tax is 32.6 cents per gallon on gasoline and 33.6 cents per gallon on diesel for fiscal year 2027. A 15-gallon gasoline fill-up currently includes $4.89 in state motor-fuels excise tax; 20 gallons includes $6.52. Based on the Commonwealth Transportation Board’s fiscal year 2027 statewide motor-fuels tax forecast, a 90-day quarter-year estimate places the impact of a temporary fuels-tax suspension on Virginia’s revenue at roughly $410 million. The proposal should include a transportation “backfill” of funds, rather than simply leaving funding for roads and maintenance short.
Virginia finished fiscal year 2026 with $938.8 million above the official General Fund revenue forecast, giving supporters of this “backfill” of funds a solid argument in favor of suspending the motor-fuels tax. Real world research shows that most of the proposed fuel tax cut can be passed through at the pump and will reach consumers. A Penn Wharton study found consumer pass-through of 72% in Maryland, up to 65% in Georgia, and up to 87% in Connecticut during their 2022 state gas-tax holidays. Further studies have found that around 70% of a temporary gas-tax suspension was passed through to drivers in Illinois and Indiana. When one considers that many families and businesses fuel up multiple vehicles several times each month, the potential savings are indeed legitimate.
President Trump has separately signed an executive order temporarily expanding highway use of dyed diesel fuel and directing federal agencies to defer applicable federal excise-tax payments and penalties through the end of 2026, subject to implementation. The Commonwealth should work with federal officials to get qualifying fuel onto Virginia roads as quickly as possible, and it should work to temporarily suspend fuel excise taxes to reduce the current financial burden on families and businesses.
As the Delegate representing the 42nd House District in the Virginia General Assembly, your concerns are my greatest priority. If ever I may be of assistance to you and your family, please do not hesitate to reach out to me at [email protected]. You can also follow me on Twitter @JasonBallardVA or like my Facebook page, Jason Ballard for Delegate, to keep up to date with what I am doing in Richmond and in our community on your behalf.
