Fill Your Tanks This Halloween Weekend, Florida Gas Prices Will Go Up 25 Cents Per Gallon On Tuesday
Florida gas prices have been steadily climbing for the month of October. On Tuesday November 1st, that’s when we’ll see the big jump. I filled up on Wednesday October 26th. Regular gas was $3.31. Definitely more than it was last month. But a lot less than next week will be.
If you remember, “The Florida Motor Fuel Tax Relief Act of 2022 reduces the tax rate on motor fuel by 25.3 cents per gallon. Passed by the Florida Legislature and signed into law by Governor Ron DeSantis, the tax rate reduction begins Saturday, October 1, and extends through Monday, October 31.” That’s this coming Monday.
They had no way of knowing about Hurricane Ian when they did this. In hindsight, this relief could not have come at a better time. What with all the generators – still – needed across Southwest Florida. It helped. For the rest of Florida, the gas price relief was pitched as a way for us to help deal with the inflation that’s punishing the United States. The Governor announced a tax surplus, so instead of finding more things to spend the money on, he decided to suspend gasoline tax. But….. That ends Monday night.
Florida gas prices Monday night and Tuesday morning are going to look very different.
There’s no one to blame on this one. Well, there is some blame on why it’s gone up so much this year but I’m getting into all that. Well, maybe a little.
We haven’t paid tax on gasoline during October. November. Well, we could see it creeping back up to $4 a gallon. If your car uses premium, like mine does, a lot more. And then there’s this: WPTV adds yet another factor that could happen in November. “OPEC+, the group of nation’s that export most of the world’s oil, plans to cut production by 2 million barrels a day, leading many experts to predict a 20% increase in gas prices. If that holds true, Floridians will be paying $4.16 per gallon Nov. 1. ” Although that’s not likely to happen by Tuesday, it’s possible that you could see that number by Thanksgiving.
Fill up your cars and trucks this weekend. Monday at the latest. And Governor Ron DeSantis, if you’re reading this – can Southwest Florida get another month of that gas tax relief?