If The Gas Tax Is Too High Now, Why Not Cut It For Good?
- Suspending the gas tax only during crises is a short-term fix, not a long-term solution.
- Cutting the gas tax permanently would force lawmakers to reassess spending priorities.
- Katz challenges lawmakers to propose legislation for a permanent, substantial gas tax reduction.
If The Gas Tax Is Too High Now, Why Not Cut It For Good?
Tony Katz is applauding Gov. Mike Braun’s move to extend Indiana’s gas-tax suspension — but he says the applause ought to come with a far more uncomfortable follow-up question for lawmakers: If Hoosiers deserve relief at the pump during a crisis, why are they still being hit with the same tax the rest of the time?
Katz argued that Braun found a creative way to continue the suspension by tying it to a new emergency, citing disruption to oil supplies amid attacks connected to the war in Ukraine and tensions involving Iran. Katz called the maneuver “Trumpian thinking” and gave the governor credit for finding a path to prevent an immediate jump in prices at the pump.
“Change what the emergency is,” Katz said, praising the decision to keep the tax suspended rather than let drivers absorb another increase.
The extension drew support from at least one Democratic lawmaker. State Rep. Cherrish Pryor of Indianapolis said she backed the action and was glad Braun moved to ensure Hoosiers would not face “a drastic increase” in fuel prices that weekend. Pryor also characterized the suspension as temporary relief for a nationwide problem and called for President Donald Trump to bring the conflict with Iran to an end.
Katz seized on that premise — and then turned it back on the legislature.
“If it’s good that Hoosiers are not paying this tax, you should be making the argument that they shouldn’t pay this tax at all,” Katz said.
That is the part lawmakers are generally less eager to discuss. Temporary tax holidays make for a tidy press release. A permanent reduction forces the Statehouse to decide which spending priorities it is willing to trim, defend or rethink. Suddenly, the easy applause gets expensive.
Katz said Indiana’s gas tax, which he put at roughly 60 cents a gallon, should be cut dramatically rather than suspended only when a declared emergency makes the politics convenient. He floated a 17-cent rate — and said even a reduction to 12 cents would be preferable to treating relief as a short-lived exception.
“Whose money is it?” Katz asked. “How about helping Hoosiers out?”
He challenged Pryor and Republican lawmakers alike to put actual legislation behind their support for the suspension. Katz said there has to be a bipartisan path to a lower gas tax, arguing that a tax burden viewed as intolerable during a supply shock does not magically become reasonable once the headlines cool.
The governor’s extension may keep prices from climbing in the near term. Katz’s point is that it also exposes a larger contradiction: Indiana officials know how to offer relief when pressure mounts. The question is why they will not make more of it permanent.
Hear Tony Katz break it down live weekdays on WIBC 93.1 FM, or catch the full segment on-demand.
Listen to the “If The Gas Tax Is Too High Now, Why Not Cut It For Good?” discussion in full here:
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