When the price of gasoline goes up, I assume that the excise taxes

[KlatooBNikto]

the Federal Government collects also goes up. Are these revenues allocated for a single purpose or are they at the discretion of the Administration? I ask this question because when gas prices went up from $1.30 a gallon to near $2.30 a gallon, the excise taxes must also have doubled.Is Bush using this fund to funnel money for his War?Does anybody have an idea?

[leveymg]

1. It's stayed at 18.3 cents/gal for years. n/t

[KlatooBNikto]

2. I am surprised that it is not based on the current price of gasoline.

I would have thought it would be some fixed percentage of the price at the pump.

Yesterday, when I stopped at my neighborhood gas station and was pumping gas, there was a little sticker on the pump that asked the question where does your money go? It showed a pie chart in which the federal excise taxes were the biggest slice, followed by state taxes,
transportation,refining and finally a very insignificant pie slice for the dealer. I am not sure what to make of this. If the figure had stayed the same at 19.3 cents for years as you say,it should be less than 10% of the pump price today, which does not seem to be the case from the size of the pie slice I saw yesterday.Any thoughts?

[leveymg]

4. That sticker is based on gas priced at $1.30/gal

The gasoline retailers association must have had a bunch in storage and just mailed them out to the membership.

Google: gasoline excise tax

The real money isn't made by the retailers. It's the multinational majors who have huge supplies and long-term contracts on hand. Every day they hold onto these stockpiles, they just get richer.

All this stuff is right out in the open, including the delay of the domestic price rise until after the elections. Read: http://www.progressivetrail.org/articles/040825Levey.shtml

[KlatooBNikto]

5. Thank you.I learnt something.

[salin]

6. Perhaps - growth is tied to increase in consumption

so while the tax doesn't rise - gas guzzlers that also hold more gallons in the tank have increased in the past 15 years - that should account for quite an increase in total collections on tax on gasoline. The person who drove a Honda Accord in the early nineties that got, say, 25 mpg who now drives a big SUV that gets, say, 16 miles to the gallon- is buying a whole lot more fuel and paying a greater net amount in taxes on that gas.

[mrbill]

3. the tax per gallon remains the same......

the federal tax is 18.7-cents or whatever and not a percentage.

same with the state tax.

revenues might actually drop if people start buying less gas.

[BiggJawn]

7. Tied to the quantity, not the price.

It's an excise tax on each gallon, not a sales tax on the purchase price.