Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Announces $1 Billion in Gas Tax Relief Amid Inflation

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced on Monday that the state would act to provide $1 billion of gas tax relief amid inflation that causes oil price hikes.

Speaking at a Buc-ee's gas station in Daytona Beach, DeSantis said the Republican-controlled state legislature would work to suspend Florida's gas tax to provide $1 billion in relief to drivers that feel the pain of the oil price hike, The Blaze reported.

"Gas prices have been rising due to inflationary pressures from bad federal policies, so we here in Florida need to step up and provide relief to our citizens," Ron DeSantis noted.

According to DeSantis, the gas tax relief will allow an average family in Florida to save up to $200 over a five or six-month period.

Florida officials lauded the governor for the move, including Lieutenant Governor Jeanette Nuñez, saying that DeSantis' proposal will "empower" the Florida families and businesses impacted by President Joe Biden's "reckless policies."

Oil Prices in Florida

According to the American Automobile Association, the average price of unleaded gasoline per gallon in Florida jumped 10 cents to $3.36 in the previous week. The said amount is also the highest amount paid to the citizens of Florida since September of 2014.

With the proposed gas tax relief, the said provision would suspend Florida's 25 cents per gallon fuel tax beginning in July, WESH 2 reported.

Ron DeSantis noted that he had already spoken to the business leaders in the state and agreed to lower the prices of oil.

"We talked at Racetrack, we talked to Daily's, Gate, a bunch of them throughout the state of Florida, and they all said yes, absolutely [we will lower prices]," DeSantis said.

The governor added that Florida is in "great financial shape" to push through with the gas tax holiday.

"We have the ability to do what we need to do from a standpoint of infrastructure and so we have folks that are getting hammered by the rising gas prices, and so we're here to do something about it," DeSantis said.

The Florida governor wanted lawmakers to approve the gas tax relief proposal during the legislative session that starts on January 11.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Blames Joe Biden for High Gas Prices

Ron DeSantis has blamed the high gas prices on Joe Biden.

"Obviously, this is being driven by inflationary policies out of Washington," the Florida governor noted.

DeSantis also said the price of a Thanksgiving dinner immediately rose to 20 percent just after a year. The governor noted that the "most dramatic" effect of the inflationary policies in Washington was the prices of gas going up, adding that it affects the daily lives of most people.

"We think this is a huge problem for working families in Florida. Really it hits everybody, but particularly hits blue-collar people, people on a fixed income," Ron DeSantis said.

Last week, the president blamed the "anti-consumer behavior" from oil and gas companies over the oil price hike. Joe Biden then instructed the Federal Trade Commission to conduct a probe whether fuel companies were illegally conspiring to raise prices.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Joshua Summers

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