A Republican candidate running in Pennsylvania‘s gubernatorial election is seeking a hefty cut to the state gas tax.
Bill McSwain, a former Philadelphia attorney, pitched a permanent 50% gas tax cut, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. As of late Thursday, the state’s gas tax, which rests at 57.6 cents per gallon, is the highest fuel tax in the nation.
“You will hear a lot of talk in this primary race about the gas tax from other career politicians I am running against,” McSwain said, adding that his opponents have offered “gimmicky temporary solutions” and that “talk is cheap.”
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McSwain said he would pay for the gas cut by looking at spending across “every department” in the state government. “I am a fiscal conservative. I want to reduce the size of government,” he said.
Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman, another gubernatorial candidate on the Republican side, introduced a bill that would cut the gas tax by 50% until the end of the year. Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, who is running for governor on the Democratic side, has proposed sending Pennsylvanians federal relief money to offset the price increases.
The primary is set for May 17. McSwain came in fourth place in a recent poll.
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The national average of gas is up to $4.153 per gallon as of Thursday, according to AAA. Gov. Tom Wolf was among six Democratic governors to call for a suspension of the federal gas tax of 18.4 cents per gallon.
