There is strong support for reinstating the state cap on the gasoline taxes, according to a new poll.

About 80 percent of North Carolina residents said they want the legislature to place a cap on the state gasoline tax, which is due to rise from 32 cents to 36 cents a gallon in July as a result of increasing gas prices, according to a survey conducted for the Civitas Institute, a Raleigh-based conservative advocacy group.

Only 15 percent said the tax should continue to rise, while 5 percent said they did not know or refused to answer.

The spin: “North Carolina's gas tax is already significantly higher than neighboring states,” said Brian Balfour, a policy analyst with the Civitas Institute. “Raising the tax even higher will just encourage more consumers purchase their gas – along with other items purchase at the station's convenience store – in other states.”

The survey of 600 North Carolina registered voters was conducted May 10-11 by National Research Inc. of Holmdel, N.J. and had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.