HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — Motorists, chainsaw operators and anyone running on generator power can breathe a small sigh of relief, as GovGuam has extended a pause on gasoline and diesel taxes for another six months.
Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero has signed the six-month extension of the Gas Tax Relief Act, which lawmakers passed Monday during an emergency legislative session. An extra 19-cent charge on every gallon of regular-grade gasoline and 18-cent charge per gallon of diesel are tacked on by liquid fuel taxes and associated surcharges.
The tax freeze, which has been in place since last summer, actually expired this past weekend. But no associated bump has been seen at gas stations, which, according to tax waiver sponsor Sen. Joe San Agustin, had agreed to hold off any price hike until the local government took action.
The tax waiver is needed today even more than it was when it first passed, Leon Guerrero said in a letter to Speaker Therese Terlaje.
“In the aftermath of Typhoon Mawar, our community relies on fuel for relief, whether to power their generators while the hardworking men and women of the Guam Power Authority strive to power up our community, to power equipment necessary to clear green waste and debris the storm left behind, or to help our community restore normalcy in their own lives, whether that means getting to work or to school,” the governor wrote.
Though the tax pause was meant to be temporary, it was “without question” that an extension was necessary, she stated.
The reduction in GovGuam revenue from the tax waiver has been estimated by San Agustin’s office at about $5.1 million over the next six months. Adelup finance officials are currently scrounging to find enough money to shunt toward $50 million worth of Mawar recovery spending that senators have authorized.
The 76/Circle K gas station in Anigua is shown Tuesday, June 13, 2023. The government of Guam has extended a pause on gasoline and diesel taxes for another six months.
