Missouri will not suspend state gas tax amid rising prices

ST. LOUIS (First Alert 4) -- Missouri will not suspend the state gas tax, according to Gov. Mike Kehoe’s office. The U.S. war with Iran has sent gas prices surging since February.

Missouri’s fuel tax is distributed to agencies including the Missouri Department of Transportation, as well as Missouri cities and counties for road construction and maintenance.

“This revenue stream funds the jobs of the men and women across the state who work on these road projects, which contribute to the critical public safety and infrastructure needs of our state,” the governor’s office said in a statement.

If the funding were paused, the statement said, people would be out of jobs, and road projects would get delayed.

Some states — including Georgia, Indiana and Utah — have already suspended or reduced their state gas taxes to push prices down. These are temporary measures that typically last for a month or just a little longer.

First Alert 4 reached out to Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker’s office to see if Illinois may consider suspending the state fuel tax, but did not hear back as of press time.

Two weeks ago, President Trump proposed to suspend the federal gas tax, which would save 18.4 cents a gallon on unleaded gasoline. That plan would need to be approved by Congress and has gone nowhere.