Burns: Ease pain at the pump by rolling back Corbett-era gasoline tax
Will introduce bill to eliminate state tax escalation at wholesale price level
Rep. Frank Burns May 29, 2026 | 1:41 PM
HARRISBURG, May 29 — Reminding everyone he was a hearty “No” vote on a gasoline tax hike passed during the Corbett administration, state Rep. Frank Burns now wants to neuter a portion of that 2013 law that hiked the gas tax at the wholesale level — an increase passed on at the pump.
Burns’ pending legislation would repeal the Corbett-era provision that raised the maximum taxable wholesale price of fuel from $1.87 to $2.99 by 2017 – and shifted any related, increased state tax costs on to drivers during their fill-ups.
“When the Republican-controlled legislature brought this increase up for a House vote in 2013, I voted against it with gusto because I knew it was going to unfairly impact every working Pennsylvanian who uses a gas-powered vehicle to get to work — or for their work,” Burns said. “The increases put in place and phased in since then have hit drivers in the wallet for nearly a decade.
“With gas prices currently stressing motorists’ paychecks and family budgets, it’s time to provide some economic relief by peeling back this wholesale gasoline tax hike.”
In a situation that came into being without Burns’ vote, Pennsylvania currently has one of the highest gas tax rates in the country, rivaled only by California, Illinois, and Washington.
Sympathetic to their current plight, Burns believes people across the Commonwealth deserve some tax relief as they cope with the rising cost of groceries, housing, utilities, and other basic life needs.
“We can ease the added burden of today’s gas prices by repealing the outdated formula that keeps the state’s gas tax high,” Burns said.