LANSING, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Michigan senators on Tuesday, March 15, approved a six-month suspension to the state’s 27-cent-per-gallon gas tax.
The proposal, House Bill 5570 would do away with the motor fuel tax from April 1st to September 30th, 2022. The suspension would apply to gasoline, diesel, and alternative fuels.
Michigan’s tax rate of 27.2 cents per gallon on all types of fuel has come under scrutiny as prices have soared in response to the war in Ukraine.
Lawmakers against the bill saying the six-month proposal would cost the state an estimated $725 million dollars but are feeling now that this could be offset with existing surplus revenue.
The bill was passed on Tuesday with a 24-14, mostly party-line vote with Senators Sean McCann of Kalamazoo and Dayna Polehanki of Livonia being the two Democrats to join Republicans in voting for the measure. The bill is still pending approval from the House before hitting Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s desk, in which she indicated last week that she would veto the measure.
Whitmer joined Democratic governors from five other states in a letter asking congressional leaders to pass a bill suspending the 18 cent tax on every gallon of gas.
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