Congressman Mike Garcia, R-Santa Clarita, called on Governor Newsom to act and suspend the gas tax Wednesday.

California has the highest gas tax in the nation and record-breaking inflation is only making matters worse., officials said.

Instead of providing relief for “hardworking Californians,” Governor Newsom plans to implement a 5.6 percent gas tax hike on July 1st, according to Garcia’s office.

“California failed to suspend the gas tax before May 1st and now Governor Newsom plans to punish Californians further by raising the gas tax on July 1st,” said Garcia. “Californians already pay the price of living in one of the most expensive states in the U.S. It is past time that we start lowering taxes on hardworking Californians. As representatives of the people, we must provide relief to families during this time of record-breaking inflation. I am proud to stand with my California colleagues in calling on the Governor to suspend the gas tax and provide needed relief to Californians.”

In March, Garcia joined lawmakers in writing a letter to Newsom, urging him to suspend the gas tax. In addition to ignoring lawmakers’ concerns, Newsom is disregarding the pain Californians feel at the pump.

“California’s infrastructure certainly faces challenges, but our constituents face even greater difficulties. The state’s budget surplus and new federal funds give you the opportunity to pass desperately needed savings on to ordinary Californians,” the lawmakers wrote in March.

Since day one, Garcia has remained committed to providing economic relief for Californians, according to his office.

The first bill that Garcia introduced in Congress was the SALT Fairness Act, H.R. 202. His bill would remove the State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction cap, which would allow Californians to keep more of their hard-earned money.

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