North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson is warning gas retailers that they must pass along savings from the temporary suspension of the state’s gas tax.
The state’s 41-cent-per-gallon tax on gasoline and diesel was suspended Saturday and will remain suspended through Nov. 30 under a law passed by the General Assembly and signed by Gov. Josh Stein.
Jackson sent letters Tuesday to gas retailers and distributors informing them that the law requires the tax savings to be passed on to customers. He also spoke to reporters about enforcement.
“There’s a lot of public data on gas stations and the prices that they’re charging, and historically the prices that they have charged,” Jackson said. “We’re going to have a very good sense of how much they were charging before the suspension and how much they’re charging now and after they take their next delivery. It’s going to be pretty easy to spot extreme outliers here, and when we see those outliers, we will react.”
Stations pay the tax when they receive a new fuel delivery. Many stations are still selling gas purchased before the suspension took effect, when the tax had already been paid.
Prices are expected to decrease as stations receive new deliveries.
