Whitmer vetoes suspension of gas tax

The legislation passed with bipartisan support

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has delivered on her promise to veto legislation that would have temporarily suspended Michigan’s gas tax of 27 cents per gallon. According to the nonpartisan Senate Fiscal Agency, this would have saved Michiganders approximately $770 million in taxes.

Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey (R-Clarklake) said the governor needs to work on this issue. “The governor isn’t just a day late and a dollar short on this issue, she’s weeks late and millions of dollars short. Other than writing a letter to Nancy Pelosi, she’s been absent as Michiganders are struggling with record-high gas prices. Now she’s proposing a half-measure that won’t save drivers as much as the bill we’ve already passed.”

“If the governor really wants to help Michiganders, she’ll tell Senate Democrats to support immediately suspending the gas tax. Then we can talk about doing away with the sales tax on gas once and for all.”

Whitmer, who had previously proposed tripling the state gas tax in 2019, says she supports a gas tax holiday at the federal level or on Michigan’s 6% sales tax instead of a gas tax cut. “I’m ready to work across the aisle with the legislature to negotiate a bipartisan solution that cuts taxes and lowers costs for drivers, seniors, and working families. We can start by pausing the sales tax on fuel,” Whitmer said in a statement Friday.

Michigan currently has the sixth-highest gas tax in the nation with a total of $0.64 per gallon ($0.27 of which are state taxes). Currently, gas prices are approximately $1 more per gallon than at this time last year.