Tomorrow I’m going to the beach, close to the SC line, and I will be driving over to buy gas. Why? Because gas taxes are lower in South Carolina and, consequently, gas is cheaper. In fact, according to gasbuddy.com, the average gas price in South Carolina today is $3.26/gallon. In North Carolina, it’s $3.51.
Among the reasons for our high gas price is the level of taxation. Today, ABC News published a list of Ten States With Highest Gasoline Taxes. It includes all sorts of taxes – excise, sales, environmental, testing fee, gross receipts, inspection, and my favorite, a levy for an underground storage tank fund in Illinois – which vary by state. Based on the American Petroleum Institute’s July 2013 review, North Carolina ranks eighth in the country for highest gas taxes at an average of $0.56/gallon. The national average is $0.49.
All of this is particularly significant because gas prices affect everything else. Higher gas prices mean higher transportation costs for businesses, which turns into higher prices for everything we buy. There’s a huge knock-on effect. If we want to be more competitive with the states around us, North Carolina needs to look at ways to lower these taxes, which will help to attract people and businesses to our state.
