Trump Opens Tax-Free Dyed Diesel to Highway Use
The Facts
- U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday that temporarily opens highway use of tax-free dyed diesel and defers the federal diesel tax on that fuel through the end of the year without interest or penalties.
- The federal diesel tax is 24.4 cents per gallon, amounting to roughly $60 on a 250-gallon fill. The White House said that savings could top $100 per fill-up in states that match the federal action by suspending their own taxes.
- Trump signed the order on stage during a rally in Grand Island, Neb., while saying that it would "officially waive the off-road requirement and allow anyone to purchase tax-free red dye diesel for any reason."
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The Spin
Pro-Trump narrative
Trump's decision to sign this executive order is smart, as it provides fast relief for the people who keep food moving and shelves stocked. Every cent per gallon matters when hauling grain or cattle, and harvest season is no time to leave a cheaper option locked behind paperwork. Lower fuel costs ripple straight into lower prices at the checkout line for everybody.
Anti-Trump narrative
Unfortunately for Trump and truckers, a deferral is not a tax cut, and the bill can still come due for anyone who switches to dyed diesel. State dyed diesel laws and fuel taxes make it so that most drivers gain nothing and not a single extra gallon of supply is created. Real relief would require Congress and an honest accounting of how the Iran war and other things are affecting prices.
