Note, this node is Americentric in nature and reflects the most current information I could lay my hands on. Noders from other countries are encouraged to chime in with their own perspective on the soaring price of gas.

With the Mideast in turmoil it should come as no surprise that people here in the States are going to wind up paying more at the pump than they’re used to. Oil speculators are driving up prices and countries such as Libya are cutting back supplies and the rest of the Arab world doesn’t seem interested in increasing production in order to make up for the difference.

Naturally those fine folks at the We report, you decide network have found a way to lay the blame at the footsteps of President Obama. Bill O’Reilly recently claimed that Mr. Obama actually wants to keep the price per gallon high since it would increase the federal tax revenue generated by sales to the public.

Bill O’ Reilly is wrong.

The current amount of federal tax for each gallon of gas sold in the United States is 18.4 cents per gallon and has nothing to do with the fluctuating price of the gas itself. In fact, the opposite could very well hold true. As the price of a gallon of gas goes up people will be less inclined to drive and therefore federal tax revenues on a per gallon basis will go down rather than up.

On the other hand, some states also reserve the right to charge a sales tax based on the actual amount of gas sold.

Here’s a look at each of the fifty states and what they charge on a per gallon basis. This does not include any other state, municipal or local charges that might be in effect.

Alabama – 18 cents per gallon

Alaska - 8 cents per gallon

Arizona - 18 cents per gallon

Arkansas - 21.5 cents per gallon

California - 35.3 cents per gallon

Colorado - 22 cents per gallon

Connecticut -25 cents per gallon

Delaware - 23 cents per gallon

Florida - 16 cents per gallon

Georgia - 7.5 cents per gallon

Hawaii - 17 cents per gallon

Idaho - 25 cents per gallon

Illinois - 19 cents per gallon

Indiana - 18 cents per gallon

Iowa - 21 cents per gallon

Kansas - 24 cents per gallon

Kentucky - 24.5 cents per gallon

Louisiana - 20 cents per gallon

Maine - 29.5 cents per gallon

Maryland – 23.5 cents per gallon

Massachusetts - 21 cents per gallon

Michigan - 19 cents per gallon

Minnesota - 27.5 cents per gallon

Mississippi - 18 cents per gallon plus

Missouri - 17 cents per gallon

Montana - 27 cents per gallon

Nebraska - 27.1 cents per gallon

Nevada - 23 cents per gallon

New Hampshire - 19.63 cents per gallon

New Jersey - 10.5 cents per gallon

New Mexico -18.9 cents per gallon

New York - 24.5 cents per

North Carolina - 31.9 cents per gallon

North Dakota - 23 cents per gallon

Ohio - 28 cents per gallon

Oklahoma - 17 cents per gallon

Oregon - 24 cents per gallon

Pennsylvania -31.2 cents per gallon

Rhode Island - 32 cents per gallon

South Carolina - 16 cents per gallon

South Dakota - 24 cents per gallon

Tennessee - 21.4 cents per gallon

Texas - 20 cents per gallon

Utah -24.5 cents per gallon

Vermont -24.9 cents per gallon

Virginia - 17.5 cents per gallon

Washington - 37.5 cents per gallon

West Virginia - 32.2 cents per gallon

Wisconsin - 32.9 per gallon

Wyoming - 14 cents per gallon

In closing, nobody likes to pay taxes. I myself look at them as a sort of a necessary evil but for those of you who have a hatred of the federal government you might want to take a look closer to home when it compares to the federal average of 18.4 cents per gallon.

Update

Some people have taken me to task regarding the O'Relly quote and taking it out of context. In the interest of fairness here's what he said.

O'REILLY: The higher gas at the pump is, the more federal dollars, yeah, the more money the feds get. So I mean they're -- so I mean some cynical people are going, look Obama doesn't want the price to go down because Washington is getting more money from the taxes at the pump.

I report, you decide...

Source

http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/petroleum_marketing_monthly/current/pdf/enote.pdf

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