Updated 07/03/19 at 12:45 p.m.
Ohio’s gas tax increased Monday from 28 to 38.5 cents per gallon, a 10.5-cent bump authorized by the state transportation budget signed earlier this year by Gov. Mike DeWine.
The per-gallon tax on diesel fuel rose by 19 cents, to 47 cents. State motor fuel taxes are charged on top of the federal motor fuel tax of 18.4 cents per gallon of gasoline and 24.4 cents per gallon of diesel.
"Our roads are obviously essential to highway safety and they are certainly an essential part of our economy," Mr. DeWine said, per the Statehouse News Bureau.
It's unlikely every gas station will immediately pass on the tax increase to drivers. Some will absorb it in hopes of drawing more customers inside to buy slushies.
Mr. DeWine had originally asked the Ohio General Assembly to increase the gasoline tax by 18 cents per gallon, but state legislators forced the governor to compromise on a lower amount.
"We faced a crisis," Mr. DeWine said in April before signing the transportation budget, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. "We had to fix the crisis. We are fixing the crisis ... by the action taken by the [Ohio] Senate and the [Ohio] House."
Per the Statehouse News Bureau and the Enquirer, the motor fuel tax increases should yield over $800 million more per year for transportation-related infrastructure projects – $524 million for the state and almost $400 million for local governments.
Gas stations don’t itemize motor fuel taxes on receipts. But stickers enumerating those taxes will soon be placed on gas pumps throughout Franklin County, Auditor Michael Stinziano announced Monday in a press release.
The state transportation budget also made front license plates optional – to the chagrin of the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
This post has been updated to include the federal motor fuel tax and to clarify that gas stations do not itemize motor fuel taxes on receipts.
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