A 19-cent jump in the Massachusetts gas tax has local gas station owners hoping to see a rise in customers from across the border, though the talk of taxes has left motorists steaming at the pumps.

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick unveiled the increase to the state’s gas tax on Jan. 20 as part of a plan to raise $500 million a year to offset the cost of repairing the Commonwealth’s deteriorating roads, bridges and tunnels.

Reaching a total of 42.5 cents per gallon, the increase would leave Massachusetts surpassing New York and California with the highest gas tax in the nation. By comparison, the gasoline tax in New Hampshire is 18 cents per gallon, with another 1.6 cents set aside in environmental fees. Motorists already pay a 18.4 cent federal tax on each gallon of gasoline purchased.

“If you keep on taxing people, they are not going to buy it,” said Jim Massahos, owner of Salem’s R and J Getty. “People from Massachusetts will start coming over here. If someone gets 20 gallons, that’s like eight to 10 bucks a week. That’s a lot of money, especially now.”

Massahos, who has been operating the Main Street gas station since 1972, said the tax hike was good news for border communities like Salem with Massachusetts residents considering crossing the border for gas as one way to save money.

Frank Laratonda, manager of the Route 28 One Stop Retail Shoppe, said he had already seen a roughly 7 percent increase in the amount of customers from Massachusetts filling up at his pumps, a figure he expects to rise with the Commonwealth’s gas tax.

“I believe that it will help our sales, at least on the border stores. People are coming up here right now for other items, why not come up for gas, too?” he said. “This should definitely be a benefit for us.”

While many New Hampshire motorists view the increase as making the state a more attractive location for out of state consumers – like Derry resident Mike Stankus, who called the move “great news” for the economies of border communities – the plan has left a sour taste in the mouths of Massachusetts motorists.

Topping off his gas tank at Salem’s North Broadway St. Hess station, Richard Bartholdson, a native of Massachusetts’ South Shore, said the tax increased disgusted him.

“Where does it end?” he asked. “Between that and the cost of food, the lack of jobs and then the little guy gets to pay more for gas. Do you have to lose your home before you get relief?”

Massachusetts is not alone in eyeing increased taxes at the pump as a way to fill in budget deficits. Legislators in New Hampshire, for the first time since 1992, are considering a 15 cent increase on the gas tax as a way to fund the upkeep of the state’s transportation infrastructure.

Casting a critical eye on the move, Massahos predicted the potential increase would backfire, inspiring motorists to stay off the roads and dampening business for gas station owners. If the state wanted to lend residents a helping hand during the recession, they ought to cut taxes rather than raise them, he said.

“These people have already adjusted to where they’re learning not to use two cars anymore because of the price of fuel. All that it is going to do is keep people from driving,” Massahos said. “If they were smart they wouldn’t raise the tax and everyone will come over here. It’s a no-brainer.”