Rick Scott supports gas tax suspension sought by Donald Trump

by | May 12, 2026 | Politics

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U.S. Sen. Rick Scott is rallying behind President Donald Trump’s suggestion to suspend the federal gas tax as negotiations continue to wind down the conflict with Iran that has roiled petroleum markets.

In an interview with Scott Jennings, the Naples Republican backed the move, which could save motorists 18 cents per gallon.

“Good idea. I cut taxes and fees 100 times as Governor. I dramatically reduced the tax structure in my state when I was Governor of Florida. We ought to do everything we can to reduce the cost to consumers,” Scott said.

Trump told CBS News that the federal government was “going to take off the gas tax for a period of time, and when gas goes down, we’ll let it phase back in.”

It remains to be seen if that happens, given it would require an act of Congress.

Gas prices in Florida are flirting with recent highs, at $4.40 a gallon as of Monday morning according to AAA — The Auto Club Group.

That is a dime less than the recent peak on Thursday. But even $4.40 is 6 cents more than a week ago, 20 cents more than about a month ago and $1.48 more than this time last year.

Florida drivers need to hope for federal relief, because Gov. Ron DeSantis doesn’t want to provide any from the state’s roughly 38-cent per gallon levy, which includes a 22-cent base tax and other related duties, such as a 9.9-cent per gallon State Comprehensive Enhanced Transportation System tax and local option taxes.

DeSantis has dismissed the “really marginal” relief and said that “the price just gets raised so that the consumer doesn’t see any difference.” He argued earlier this year that a tax cut is pointless if gas stations “just raise it to the same price anyway,” which means “no one’s really benefited from that at that point.”

In lieu of a cut, DeSantis says people simply “have to shoulder higher fuel costs when fuel spikes.”

The last state-level tax holiday in 2022 was subsidized with money from the federal American Rescue Plan Act. That proposal was originally intended to be indefinite in length, though it ended up as just a one-month reprieve.

The post Rick Scott supports gas tax suspension sought by Donald Trump appeared first on Florida Politics – Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government..

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Written by Albert Pham, News Curator and Blogger

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