Delaware to provide taxpayers $300, as gas prices rise

Lawmakers plan to provide $300 in direct payments to Delaware taxpayers, as the state looks to take advantage of its $1 billion surplus at a time when inflation is climbing and gas prices are at an all-time high.

The plan, which has the support of Gov. John Carney, consists of sending the direct payment to every resident who filed a 2020 tax return. Lawmakers said they will introduce this legislation in the coming week and vote on it in April.

It’s expected to pass in the General Assembly quickly, since it is backed by Democratic and Republican leadership. 

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More than 600,000 Delawareans are likely to receive these payments, which will cost $186.6 million, officials said. Rep. Valerie Longhurst, House Majority Leader, said the hope is for residents to receive the money before June 30. 

Though the federal government provided direct payments earlier in the pandemic, Longhurst said this is likely the first time Delaware has ever done a rebate program.

This announcement comes just after the Delaware Economic and Financial Advisory Council this week projected an additional $206 million in revenue for this fiscal year, on top of the previously expected $824 million in extra revenue. 

Though lawmakers had been talking about this idea since January, the announcement from the council was the “catalyst that pushed us forward,” Longhurst said.