Why a gas tax holiday might not be something to celebrate

The Indicator from Planet Money

NPR

Business

4.7 • 9.2K Ratings

🗓️ 6 July 2022

⏱️ 10 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Amid daunting gas prices, President Biden's proposed federal gas tax holiday sounds like a sweet relief. But the economics behind this tax break reveals the push and pull between consumers and oil companies, and an unexpected outcome.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hey, a quick note before we get started,
0:01.9	the indicator and planet money are looking for our fall
0:05.1	and winter intern.
0:06.4	Come work with us.
0:07.4	It's paid and we would love to have you.
0:10.0	Go to mpr.org slash internships to apply.
0:13.8	That's mpr.org slash internships.
0:17.3	Deadline is this Sunday, July 10th.
0:20.2	NPR.
0:21.4	This is the indicator from planet money.
0:33.0	I'm Whalen Wong.
0:34.0	And I'm Darian Woods.
0:35.6	The average gas price in the US, I probably don't need to tell you, is almost $5.
0:41.1	If you're an Illinoiser on the west coast, you're paying over that.
0:45.0	In California, it's over $6.
0:47.7	High gas prices are such a visceral part of the economic pain that so many people are
0:52.4	feeling at the moment.
0:53.8	And there are a hot button political issue.
0:56.7	Last month, President Biden called for a federal gas tax holiday from July through September.
1:02.2	Today, I'm calling on Congress to suspend the federal gas tax for the next 90 days through
1:08.6	the busy summer season, busy travel season.
1:11.8	Now if you're getting a sense of deja vu, it's because the notion of a federal gas tax
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from NPR, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of NPR and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.