During the spring and summer of 2008 when gasoline prices were rising quickly, politicians in several countries proposed a moratorium on some or all gasoline taxes to help consumers. In the United States, John McCain, the Republican candidate for president, proposed suspending the federal gasoline tax of 18.4¢ for the summer when demand tends to be high. (Hillary Clinton, while an active candidate for the Democratic nomination for the president, also pushed this plan.)
In the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Gordon Brown proposed delaying a two pence per liter rise in a fuel tax until the fall. How would these short- run policies have affected the prices consumers pay in these countries if the policies had been enacted?