Brian Cornell, the CEO of Target, thinks that a federal gas tax break is not the discount the U.S. citizens need. The gas price per gallon in the U.S. is currently around $5.
A day after President Joe Biden suggested suspending the 18.4-cent-per-gallon fee, Cornell said at the Economic Club of New York, “It’s only going to fuel the demand.”
“It’s doing nothing to increase supply, so that’s a temporary, almost a mini stimulus,” he added.
Refineries have been running at full capacity to meet the never-ending demand for gasoline, jet fuel, and diesel. The circumstances surrounding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have slowed U.S. production.
“It’s time to fundamentally change the supply and demand curves for fuel and transportation,” Cornell said.
Although the Biden administration attempted to persuade producers to raise output by releasing approximately 50 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, prices have continued to rise.
“Increasing demand is not going to help lower those prices over the long term,” Cornell said.
Biden urges states and Congress to implement a gas tax holiday in response to “Putin’s Price Hike,” related news reveal:
Right now, the federal government charges an 18 cent tax per gallon of gasoline and a 24 cent tax per gallon of diesel. Those taxes fund critical highways and public transportation, through the Highway Trust Fund.
But in this unique moment, with gas prices near $5 a gallon on average across the country, President Biden is calling on Congress to suspend the gas tax for three months – until the end of September – to give Americans a little extra breathing room as they deal with the effects of Putin’s war in Ukraine.
The President is also calling on Congress to make sure that a gas tax holiday has no negative effect on the Highway Trust Fund. With our deficit already down by a historic $1.6 trillion this year, the President believes that we can afford to suspend the gas tax to help consumers while using other revenues to make the Highway Trust Fund whole for the roughly $10 billion cost. This is consistent with legislation proposed in the Senate and the House to advance a responsible gas tax holiday.
