HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania’s tax on diesel fuel rose 10.7 cents, to 77.59 cents a gallon, on Jan. 1 and its tax on gasoline increased 8 cents, to 58.3 cents.
The increases were the third and final scheduled bumps in the taxes under 2013 legislation that has yielded overall increases of 27 cents in the gas tax and of just over 39 cents for diesel.
A 6-percent increase in tolls on the Pennsylvania turnpike also took effect in January for both cash and E-ZPass. The turnpike commission has said annual hikes of up to 6 percent are possible through 2044.
Pennsylvania is one of nine states experiencing changes in fuel taxes at the pump this year, and more than a dozen states will examine adjustments in 2017.
The increase was the highest in Pennsylvania, which already had the largest fuel tax in the country.
Other states seeing fuel tax increases this year are Michigan, Nebraska, Georgia, North Carolina, Indiana and Florida.
Two states — New York and West Virginia — will have slight reductions in taxes based on automatic adjustments.
The increases reflect state efforts to balance budgets for road construction and maintenance because Congress hasn’t raised the federal gas tax of 18.4 cents per gallon since 1993.
