Can the state help with ever-increasing gas prices?

BRAINTREE, Mass. — As the price at the pump continues to climb, one idea is to cut the state gas tax.

“It’s about time. They need to do it. Yeah, absolutely,” said Susan Filippi in Braintree.

With no end to rising gas prices in sight at the pump, Filippi says her wallet can’t take much more:

“Every week, I see prices going up. Now I’m up to $100 a week. I have to fill my tank twice a week. It’s a lot of money.”

So how likely is a gas tax suspension? The state Senate voted it down in March, but hope is not lost – the new budget starts July 1.

Gov. Charlie Baker supports getting rid of it, and he stands by recent statements to Boston 25.

“If we were to suspend the gas tax, the price of gas would drop by $0.25 a gallon. That would make a huge difference for a lot of those folks,” said Gov. Baker.

And the governor says we have the money to do it because tax revenue is filling state coffers.

Paul Craney from the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance says it needs to be done.

“The middle class in Massachusetts is feeling this dramatically,” said Craney.

Craney points his finger at environmental special interest groups for politicians not suspending the gas tax – at least not yet. He says voters may change some minds because his office is being flooded with angry consumer complaints.

“This is not a partisan issue. this is not a Republican or Democrat issue – Republican and Democrat states are doing this, suspending the gas tax,” said Craney.

As for drivers like Filippi, they have a message for politicians.

“They need to cut the tax,” said Filippi.

We reached out to several state senators who voted against suspending the gas tax in March.

And we also reached out the speaker of the House and Senate president to see if they’d be willing to suspend it.

We received no reply by the time this story aired.

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