     It costs 4.2-cents a gallon more to buy gasoline or diesel in Nebraska than it did on Saturday.Â
That’s because the motor fuels tax rose yesterday from 24.8 to an even 29-cents per gallon, a rate that runs through the end of June. Nebraska’s rate is still lower than 27 other states.
There are 3 parts to the Nebraska fuel tax: the wholesale, variable, and fixed rates. The fixed rate is set by statute, but the other 2 are reviewed every 6 months.
The wholesale rate is based on wholesale fuel prices while the variable rate changes based on whether the overall tax is bringing in too much or too little revenue to meet the highway budget set by the legislature.
Dept of Transportation spokesman Shannon Ankeny says officials decided “after looking at the numbers, the cost of inflation right now, and the amount of travel that’s anticipated, we need to raise it just a little bit.”
The wholesale rate went up a penny to 10.5-cents a gallon while the variable rate went from reducing the overall tax a penny a gallon the past 6 months to 2.2-cents a gallon for the next 6 months for a total hike of 4.2-cents and an overall tax of 29-cents
The Petroleum Release Remedial Action fee isn’t part of the motor fuels tax and remains unchanged at 9-10ths of a penny on gasoline and 3-10ths of a cent on diesel.
The fee goes into a fund that helps pay for investigation and cleanup costs of facilities that have leaking petroleum tanks, either underground or above-ground.