Indiana Gas Tax Debate: Braun Extends Relief as Critics Slam State’s Dual Gas Tax System

We have two taxes on gasoline in Indiana. And our Republicans in Indiana who run the state? They are financial predators. They are bad hombres. They should have to sit down and have a seat with Chris Hansen. Tell everybody what they came to do here. They are financial predators. So you have two taxes on gas. There is a special what they call excise tax on gas, a special tax just for gas. And then there is also a sales tax on gas, like there's a sales tax on just about everything in this state, 7%. So the real scam is the more gas goes up in price, the more you pay in sales tax on gas, which is more money to the government.

How Indiana’s Two Gas Taxes Increase Costs for Drivers

Last month, Mike Braun came out after a month of delay and finally said, hey, this gas is kind of expensive. We'll go ahead and suspend the sales tax on gasoline. And then yesterday he said, quote to Tony Katz, “I'm likely to extend it for another 30 days, even though it has been drifting down, because I don't see the Mideast issue being cleared up in the next 30 to 45 days. I think we keep watching there. But it looks to me like what it's going to do, there's a good chance I'll be extending it.” So apparently that means for another month, the governor intends to extend the sales tax suspension on gasoline, which the Capital Chronicle did an exposé that sales tax on gas was set to go up to $0.23 a gallon because of the price of gas. It was 17 when he suspended it for April, so think about how expensive gas was. It would have been even higher, or will be even higher because he hasn't done it yet, if he doesn't do it in May. $0.23 a gallon.

Limits on Tax Relief Highlight Differences in Executive Power

Now this is wild. The Capital Chronicle did some digging into this, and by law, the governor cannot renew the emergency more than once without approval of the General Assembly. So let's think about this for a second, shall we? When Eric Holcomb was shutting the state down, every month he would come out with his power pants on and take both of his middle fingers and stick them right in our face, then take his left boot and right boot and kick us in the junk over and over and over again. You guys remember that in 2020, 2021? He could do that as much as he wanted, over and over and over again. You can shut a state down as many times as you want as governor. You can put people out of work as many times you want as governor. You can force people to wear a mask as many times as you want as governor. You can close businesses as many times as you want as governor. But if you want to cut taxes for people, you can only do that twice without having to get the approval of the General Assembly. That is the most government thing ever. That guy Holcomb single-handedly destroyed our state. Now, of course, the Republicans who ran the state sat there with their thumbs up their ass and did nothing while he did it. Didn't fight for us, didn't try, didn't demand a special session be called, didn't play tough, didn't rally, nothing. We did the rallies, right? Then we got called a human petri dish. So the governor can shut the state down as many times as he wants, month after month after month. He can destroy your existence. Unlimited ability to do that. You want your taxes cut? He can only do that twice before he's got to ask permission.

Indiana Drivers Face Uncertainty as Gas Tax Suspension Nears Its Limit

Quote, “I think the legislature has to intervene at some point beyond that,” Braun said. “I doubt there'd be a special session to do it.” So basically what he's telling you is y'all better hope that the gas goes down real quick because he ain't calling a special session.