Why Virginia drivers are facing higher gas prices

Virginia drivers might notice they're paying more at the pump this summer.

The big picture: Last week, the state's motor fuels tax rate increased from 29.8 cents per gallon to 30.8.

• The one-cent jump technically isn't much, but 30.8 cents per gallon is nearly double the tax of 16.2 cents per gallon Virginians were paying in 2019 on regular gas.
• Virginia's sales tax rate for gas also went up from 8.7 cents to 9, per the Department of Motor Vehicles .
• That brings the total state taxes paid while filling up your tank to 39.8 cents per gallon.

Between the lines: For a car with a 16-gallon tank, for example, that's about $6.44 paid in state taxes compared to roughly $3.86 in 2019.

State of play: In 2020, Virginia lawmakers voted to raise the state's gas tax for the first time in over 30 years, reported the Washington Post .

• It was the only state to increase gas taxes that year, per the National Conference of State Legislatures .
• The increase was 5 cents for the first two years followed by annual adjustments that keep pace with inflation.

Flashback: In 2022, the Virginia Senate rejected Gov. Youngkin's proposal for a gas tax holiday from May 1 through July 31.

• At the time, suspending the gas tax in that time frame would have cost the state about $437 million, per the Virginia Mercury .
• Critics said it would affect funding for transportation projects. Proponents said it'd give money back to Virginians.

The latest: An Axios analysis of census data found that Virginia's gas tax is accounting for a greater share of the state's tax revenue.

• At the end of last year (or Q4), the state's gas tax was 5.4% of the state tax revenue — the most of any quarter since early 2019.
• That's a higher percentage than California (3.4%), or Illinois (4.9%), which have two of the highest state gas tax rates in the U.S.

What's next: The uptick in holiday travel could increase gas prices, too, according to AAA .

• But so far, AAA data shows the average Richmond-area gas prices are about $3.38, which is similar to last month's $3.39.