er countries. The U.S. pays an average of $1.21 per gallon of gasoline. Japan pays $5.35 per gallon, Germany pays $4.04 per gallon, The United Kingdom pays $3.38 per gallon and Mexico pays $1.55 per gallon. All four are greater than what the United States pays. Taxes are the largest component of the prices we pay at the pumps. "Taxes were the single largest component cost of gasoline, amounting to 42.4 cents per gallon, including 18.4 cents per gallon in federal taxes, 22 cents per gallon in weighted average state taxes and an estimated two cents per gallon in local taxes" (Goulder 49). The President of the United States of America, Bill Clinton, has on several occasions proposed to increase the taxes put on gas. In 1993 Clinton proposed a gas tax that raised the prices at the pumps by 7.5 cents per gallon, a 6% increase of the price. Then in 1996, Bill Clinton proposed to raise gas taxes by an additional 2.5%. Clinton wanted to raise prices 10 cents per gallon overall in his four years in office, all part of his "deficit reduction plan." Clinton’s entire campaign was based around not hurting the American people with taxes, but once in the White House, he has made the record books with the highest amount of gasoline taxes ever. Taxes are so much a part of the prices we pay that "in 1981 when pump prices where at an all time high of $2.27 per gallon, the taxes were just 27.7 cents per gallon. The real cost of motor gasoline to consumers fell by a dollar per gallon between 1981 and 1995, but over the same period federal, state and local motor gasoline taxes increased by nearly 15 cents per gallon" (Chandler 1). Taxes in the United States have increased an average of 15.6% in the last three years. Many factors influence the prices of gasoline. The price of crude oil affects gasoline prices in the world market, supply and demand for gasoline, local market competition, temporary supply interruptions, government regulations, or taxes. E...
