§ 105-449.80. Tax rate. - North Carolina Statutes

Part 3. Tax and Liability.

§ 105‑449.80.  Tax rate.

(a)        Rate. – The motorfuel excise tax rate is a flat rate of seventeen and one‑half cents (171/2¢)a gallon plus a variable wholesale component.  The variable wholesalecomponent is either three and one‑half cents (3 1/2¢) a gallon or sevenpercent (7%) of the average wholesale price of motor fuel for the applicablebase period, whichever is greater.

The two base periods are six‑monthperiods; one ends on September 30 and one ends on March 31.  The Secretary mustset the tax rate twice a year based on the wholesale price for each baseperiod.  A tax rate set by the Secretary using information for the base periodthat ends on September 30 applies to the six‑month period that begins thefollowing January 1.  A tax rate set by the Secretary using information for thebase period that ends on March 31 applies to the six‑month period thatbegins the following July 1.

(b)        Wholesale Price. –The Secretary must determine the average wholesale price of motor fuel for eachbase period.  To do this, the Secretary must use information on refiner and gasplant operator sales prices of finished motor gasoline and No. 2 diesel fuelfor resale, published by the United States Department of Energy in the"Monthly Energy Review", or equivalent data.

The Secretary must compute theaverage sales price of finished motor gasoline for the base period, compute theaverage sales price for No. 2 diesel fuel for the base period, and then computea weighted average of the results of the first two computations based on theproportion of tax collected on each under this Article for the base period. The Secretary must then convert the weighted average price to a cents‑per‑gallonrate and round the rate to the nearest one‑tenth of a cent (1/10¢). Ifthe converted cents‑per‑gallon rate is exactly between two‑tenthsof a cent (2/10¢) the Secretary must round the rate up to the higher of thetwo.

(c)        Notification. – TheSecretary must notify affected taxpayers of the tax rate to be in effect for eachsix‑month period beginning January 1 and July 1. (1995,c. 390, s. 3.)