In news that is surprising to absolutely no one - Californians are paying some of the highest gas taxes in the nation according to a new report from GasBuddy.
California drivers are paying a little more than 73 cents per gallon in local, state and federal gas taxes - a staggering 15 cent increase over 2017. For Californians who drive an average of 15,000 miles per year, that's a little more than $488.78 they're paying every year in gas taxes - nearly $96 more than they spent last year.
“That’s a monumental amount of taxes for California drivers to be paying,” said Patrick Dehaan, who heads up petroleum analysis for GasBuddy. “And that comes on top of the fact that California is already an area that sees high gas prices due to the West Coast being a kind of petrol island. It doesn’t have an interconnection to the rest of the nation’s refiners that would help keep costs down.”
The report doesn't even mention the so-called 'mystery surcharge' a Berkeley professor says Californians are paying at the pump. According to UC Berkeley Professor Severin Borenstein Californians are paying an additional 20 to 30 cents on every gallon used by drivers in the state.
Angelinos are already paying high prices at the pump. A recent report shows that gas prices in Southern California are the highest since August 2015. The average price is 2.7 cents more than one week ago, 11.6 cents higher than one month ago and 55.5 cents greater than one year ago. It has risen 45.6 cents since the start of the year.
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