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Gas savings coming, but it’ll cost you

Posted at 11:29 PM, Jun 20, 2013
and last updated 2013-06-20 23:29:57-04

Gas prices are set to go down in Virginia, and with summer road trip season on the horizon, this comes as a big relief.

"They're better than the rest of the world, but I would like to see them go down a little bit," said Bart Brown of Virginia Beach.

"I just wish they would go down a little bit more and then I would be a little happier," said Chantel Thomas of Virginia Beach.

The 17.5 cents per gallon tax hasn't been changed since the late 1980s.
At current gas prices, the new three and a half cent per dollar spent tax translates to about 12 cents for every gallon. Meaning drivers will save about a nickel per gallon.

"I'm happy about that, that sounds a lot better than 17 cents," Thomas said.

The savings at the pump though comes at the expense of most everything else.
The state sales tax set to rise from five percent to 5.3 percent.

"I think I use more gas than I do spending money on other things, so if I can save the money on my gas and pay a little bit more retail somewhere else," Brown said.

The current plan is expected to raise an additional 900 million dollars more per year.

"See, see they make you think they're saving money and they really overcharge you," said Heather Ramsey of Woodbridge.

The sales tax could go even higher in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads, so that Virginia's biggest metro areas can pay to free up their clogged highways.