(Gas Tax is going up)…The increase takes effect July 1st.

The excise tax on gasoline in California will go up 5.6 cents a gallon. That is enough to push the state’s total taxes and fees past Pennsylvania, to become the highest in the nation. The new increase represents the second iteration of Senate Bill 1, commonly known as the gas tax, that was passed by the Legislature in Sacramento in the spring of 2017 and signed by then Governor Jerry Brown. Under the terms of SB 1, the tax increase comes in stages. The July 1st increase will boost the state excise tax from 41.7 cents per gallon to 47.3 cents per gallon. Combined with the federal excise tax, California motorists will be paying 79.18 cents a gallon in taxes.