California Drivers Using Less Gas
California drivers continue to use less gas as prices at the pump go up. The State Board of Equalization tracks how much gas is sold each month, because the agency collects a flat tax and sales tax on each gallon. The board's Anita Gore says drivers bought 44-million gallons less gas in March than they did the year before.
Gore: We've seen a continued decline and it has been in this sort of range, two to three percent so it is continuing the trend that we have seen over the past several months.
Gore says gasoline sales may be dropping, but tax receipts continue to climb. She says the state will collect roughly $5 billion in sales tax this year. That's up from just $2.1 billion in 2003.