money Pain at the pump? Congress might help put money back in your wallet with rising gas prices
With high gas prices causing pain at the pump and in the wallet, governments at the state and federal level are considering what they can do in order to help Americans around the country.
While Georgia lawmakers are poised to suspend the state's 29 cent gas tax, lawmakers at the federal level have several different proposals in mind:
Gas Rebate Act of 2022
Introduced by Reps. Mike Thompson, John Larson, and Lauren Underwood, this bill gives Americans "an energy rebate of $100 per month (and $100 for each dependent) for the rest of 2022 in any month where the national average gas prices exceed $4.00 per gallon."
Similar to the pandemic stimulus checks, payments for single filers are targeted toward those earning fewer than $75,000, and are phased out at $80,000.
Payments for joint filers are targeted toward those earning fewer than $150,000, and are phased out at $160,000.
More about gas prices: Savannah’s gasoline supply is not connected to Russia. Why are prices over $4 a gallon?
Gas Prices Relief Act of 2022
Introduced back in February by Sen. Mark Kelly, this bill "provides for a temporary exemption through 2022 from the excise tax on gasoline (other than aviation gasoline)."
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the current federal excise tax on gasoline is 18.40 cents. On diesel, the federal excise tax is 24.40 cents.
Big Oil Windfall Profits Tax Act
In response to sky-high profits on the part of large oil companies, Rep. Ro Khanna and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse have introduced a bill to tax large oil companies that produce or import over 300,000 barrels of oil per day.
Those companies will pay a per-barrel tax of "50 percent of the difference between the current price of a barrel of oil and the pre-pandemic average price per barrel between 2015 and 2019."
The money from the tax would go back to Americans in the form of a quarterly rebate with similar phaseout thresholds to the Gas Prices Relief Act of 2022.
According to the announcement press release, "single filers would receive approximately $240 each year, while joint filers would receive roughly $360 each year."
Letters: Readers debate who is responsible for increased gas prices
The Stop Gas Price Gouging Tax and Rebate Act
Similar to the Big Oil Windfall Profits Tax Act, this bill aims to tax large oil companies and return the money to everyday Americans.
What differs is the execution; according to the announcement press release the tax will be a "one-time, 50 percent windfall profit tax on any adjusted taxable income (ATI) in 2022 that exceeds 110 percent of their average ATI during pre-pandemic levels between 2015-2019."
As for the rebate, it will take the form of a "monthly, advanced, and refundable tax credit that will be phased out by income" using thresholds similar to the aforementioned income thresholds.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Congress wants to fight high gas prices: tax breaks, rebates, stimulus
