ICYMI: Georgia Gas Taxes Edge Up In 2017

ATLANTA, GA — While most Georgians might not even notice, they'll be paying more at the pump for a gallon of gas in 2017.

Georgia is one of seven states that saw gas taxes increase with the start of the new year. Thankfully for motorists, Georgia's increase is one of the smallest of the seven — only a fraction of a penny per gallon.

In the Peach State, the price of a gallon of of gasoline increased by 0.3 cents on January 1 and the price of a gallon of diesel increased 0.4 cents, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.
The size of the increase was figured by a new formula approved by Georgia lawmakers that links the state's fuel tax rates to growth in inflation and vehicle fuel efficiency.

Georgia's total tax on a gallon of gasoline now sits at 31.02 cents per gallon.

In 2015, the General Assembly increased the per-gallon tax on motor fuel from 7.5 cents to 26 cents for gasoline and 29 cents for diesel, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The rates are now adjusted each year based on the consumer price index. The 2015 bill additionally exempted gasoline from state sales taxes and permitted counties and towns and cities to impose a 1 percent tax on motor fuel.

The bill established a new $200 registration fee for alternative fuel vehicles and eliminated a $5,000 tax credit for buying them.

Georgia's 0.3 percent gas-tax jump is far from the biggest this year in the United States.
Pennsylvania is raising its gas tax by 7.9 cents, Michigan by 7.3 cents and Nebraska by 1.5 cents per gallon.

Like Georgia, the gas tax in North Carolina, Indiana and Florida will see gas taxes up by a fraction of a penny per gallon this year.

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