Search Results

open access

The Federal Excise Tax on Gasoline and the Highway Trust Fund: A Short History

Description: Excise taxes have long been a part of our country's revenue history. In the field of gasoline taxation, the states led the way with Oregon enacting the first tax on motor fuels in 1919. By 1932, all states and the District of Columbia had followed suit with tax rates that ranged between two and seven cents per gallon. The federal government first imposed its excise tax on gasoline at a one cent per gallon rate in 1932. The gas tax was enacted to correct a federal budgetary imbalance.
Date: March 29, 2000
Creator: Talley, Louis Alan
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
Back to Top of Screen