Trump says he'll suspend federal gas tax to fight high prices across country

On Monday, President Donald Trump answered "yes" when asked if he would suspend the federal gas tax amid higher prices stemming from the war with Iran.

On Monday, May 11, the American Automobile Association said the national average gas price is $4.50, up more than 20 cents since the end of April. Just after the war began in late February, the average cost of unleaded gas in Raleigh was $2.83 a gallon.

Let's take a closer look at what exactly a suspension would mean for consumers and federal programs.

A gas tax holiday is a temporary suspension of the federal gas tax, currently set at 18.4 cents per gallon on gasoline and 24.4 cents per gallon on diesel fuel. That does not include state taxes, which often are higher.

The tax provides more than $23 billion per year in revenue for federal highway and public transit programs.

The president cannot suspend the federal tax on his own. Congress would have to approve the move.

Both the House and Senate are controlled by Republicans.

WRAL News reached out to North Carolina's entire delegation asking if they support suspsending the gas tax. None immediately responded for comment.

On Monday, a reporter asked Trump, "how long are you going to suspend that tax for?"

"Until it's appropriate," he responded. "It's a small percentage, but it's you know, it's still money." 

Trump said the price of oil and gas would drop “like a rock” as soon as hostilities are over. Asked how long the suspension would last, he said “until it’s appropriate.”

The federal gas tax is 18.4 cents per gallon of gasoline and 24.4 cents per gallon of diesel, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Nationally, there has been some bipartisan support for this idea.

In North Carolina, nearly 60 cents of every gallon of gas pumped is collected for federal and state-level taxes. North Carolina collects 41 cents and federally, 18.4 cents is collected. 

RELATED: Find the lowest gas prices with WRAL's Fuel Tracker

Because the fuel tax goes towards funding road maintenance and construction projects, some in the industry feel a moratorium, even temporarily, would do more harm than good.

Additionally, a study of state-level gas tax holidays from the Wharton School of Business found only about 60% to 80% of the tax cut was felt at hte  pump, and a full cut likely wouldn't make a difference with prices as high as they are now.

Because the fuel tax goes towards funding road maintenance and construction projects, North Carolina Petroleum & Convenience Marketers Executive Director Gary Harris feels a moratorium, even temporarily, would do more harm than good. 

“Our response would be 'no,'” Harris said. “If you decide to pass that law, every motorist in the state is going to expect the price of gasoline to drop by 60 cents the next day when they get up. It will not happen because the price will change, possibly twice, before that even occurs.”

Drivers are split on the impact that could truly make on high prices.

"It’s going to have to be more than 18 cents if it’s going up every day," said Shenica Smith.

I mean, anything helps," said Jackson Strong. "[If] it adds up over the course of the year, that’s probably a couple hundred bucks in the pocket."