BOSTON — Republican gubernatorial nominee Mike Minogue is calling on Beacon Hill leaders to suspend the state’s gas tax with prices climbing amid geopolitical conflicts and disruptions to global oil markets.
Minogue laid out his proposal in a statewide TV and digital ad released Thursday, saying the state’s 24-cent gas tax is adding to financial pressures facing Massachusetts families and workers as prices at the pump continue to rise.
“A gas tax holiday is a common-sense solution for hard-working Massachusetts families,” he said in the spot. “The Legislature must put the people first and get this done. As governor, I’ll do the audit and free up millions lost to waste, fraud, and abuse, allowing us to provide relief to Massachusetts families.”
A temporary gas tax holiday “would put money back in driver’s pockets” while fuel prices remain high, Minogue said. He calls on Massachusetts voters to get behind the proposal.
“Families shouldn’t have to keep paying more just to get to work, get their kids to school, or keep their businesses moving,” Minogue said. “Massachusetts can provide relief now.”
Minogue, a wealthy former biotechnology executive and GOP fundraiser from Hamilton, is challenging incumbent Democratic Gov. Maura Healey in the Nov. 3 election.
The state’s gas excise tax generated nearly $727 million in 2025, according to the Department of Revenue. The money goes toward fixing roads and bridges, and other projects.
Massachusetts also charges a 2.6-cent-per-gallon fee for removing underground gasoline tanks, which brings the state’s overall rate to 26.6 cents per gallon.
Overall, Bay State drivers pay a total of 45 cents per gallon in gasoline taxes, including state and federal taxes and other fees, according to the American Petroleum Institute. That puts it slightly below the U.S. average of just under 51 cents per gallon in total taxes, the group says.
Gas prices nationally are averaging about $4.37 a gallon, according to the American Automobile Association, as the U.S.-Israel war with Iran continues to disrupt traffic through the critical Strait of Hormuz, a global energy transit choke point that remains blockaded.
Meanwhile, drone attacks by an Iranian militia group have disabled a key Saudi Arabia east-west oil pipeline, as domestic refinery issues have further constrained regional fuel supplies, industry officials say.
Several states, Georgia, Indiana, and Utah, have implemented fuel tax freezes this year in an effort to cushion voters from escalating prices.
In Congress, Republican conservatives pushed a plan earlier this week to suspend the 18.4% federal gas tax until 2027 to help lower gas prices ahead of the midterm elections, but were blocked by members of their own party who said it would drain a fund for highway improvements.
Trump, who is trying to rally support for Republicans ahead of the midterm elections, when control of Congress is up for grabs, has backed the idea of suspending the federal gas tax.
The state’s gas tax has become a political hot potato on Beacon Hill in recent years as supply chain disruptions, high inflation and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent gasoline prices soaring to record levels.
Republican lawmakers, including Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester, unsuccessfully pushed to suspend the tax as part of the state’s budget deliberations.
But the Legislature’s Democratic majority rejected the proposals, arguing that freezing the gas tax would do little to ease pain at the pump while jeopardizing the state’s bond rating and reducing the amount of money available to help fix potholes, bridges and other infrastructure.
There have also been short-lived efforts to put the question before voters, but they failed to get on the ballot. In 2014, Massachusetts voters approved the “tank the tax” ballot question that repealed a law indexing the state’s 24-cent gas tax to inflation.
Christian M. Wade covers Massachusetts state government and politics for CNHI News and North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com.