If you're interested you can find a 6-month-old estimation of what you're paying in gas taxes here. [PDF document] I'll spoil the surprise for Californians -- third-highest in the nation at 60 cents per gallon. Of course, as the price of gasoline goes up so does that number, because California charges sales tax on top of the flat excise tax. Because the sales tax is a percentage of the price, high gas prices turn into a windfall profit for the state government.