State Gas Tax Going Up

State Gas Tax Hike Largest In 16 Years POSTED: 8:14 am EST December 17, 2005 UPDATED: 8:41 am EST December 17, 2005 Find and share low gas prices on our message board. RALEIGH, N.C. -- Get ready to pay more at the pump in January-- and you can blame the state for it. North Carolina is raising its motor fuel tax by nearly 3 cents a gallon. That's the largest increase in 16 years. Officials say the tax hike is based -- by law -- on wholesale prices. The state's tax will be 29.9 cents per gallon. About 17.5 cents of the current 27 cent tax is a flat rate. There is also a variable rate that increases when the price of gas increases. It changes every six months, based on the price of gas during that period. That is why the gas tax will jump nearly 3 cents on Jan. 1. North Carolina has the fifth-highest gas tax in the nation and the highest in the South. For example, Virginia's gas tax is 17 cents a gallon and South Carolina's is 16 cents a gallon, while North Carolina motorists currently pay 27 cents a gallon. Thanks NC for taking more money out of my pocket. I drive about 90 miles round trip to work 21 days out of a 28 day cycle. Most people are mad at Exxon for raising prices not me I'll mad about taxes. It's not bad enough that we had higher gas prices in the summer but our state leaders have a tax on the books that penalizes us more because of it. That's the way to look out for the people who put you in office. I do believe I'll send Hill and Soles an email on this one.