(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many adults in the United States would welcome a proposal to suspend the federal tax on gasoline during the summer months, according to a poll by Gallup published in USA Today. 54 per cent of respondents favour the idea, while 42 per cent do not.

The national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline reached $3.78 U.S. earlier this month—the highest level ever recorded by the American Automobile Association.

In April 2005, U.S. president George W. Bush declared, "I wish I could simply wave a magic wand and lower gas prices tomorrow; I’d do that. Unfortunately, higher gas prices are a problem that has been years in the making."

In the U.S., the federal taxes for fuel stand at 18.4 cents per gallon for gasoline, and 24.4 cents per gallon for diesel. Earlier this month, Arizona senator John McCain—the presumptive presidential nominee for the Republican Party in this year’s United States election—called for a temporary suspension of the federal gasoline tax. Illinois senator Barack Obama, who is seeking the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination, dismissed the idea.

On May 16, the New York Senate voted 46-15 to abolish the state’s tax on gasoline for the summer months. The measure does not have the support of either the lower house Assembly or New York governor David Paterson, so it is not expected to come into effect.

Polling Data

Thinking now about gas prices: Do you favor or oppose a proposal that would suspend the federal tax on gasoline during the coming summer months?

Source: Gallup / USA Today
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,017 American adults, conducted from May 8 to May 11, 2008. Margin of error is 3 per cent.

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