Politics & Government

County Gas Tax Cap Takes Effect March 1

Will cap sales tax on county's portion of fuel priced more than $3.

Citing increased gas prices and Suffolk County’s responsibility to its taxpayers, several county legislators said that Tuesday will mark the first day the county will cap its portion of the sales tax on motor fuel priced at more than $3 per gallon.

With oil prices hovering around $100 per barrel last week, members of the Suffolk County Legislature pointed towards unrest in the Middle East as a direct correlation of what is affecting gas prices at the local level.

“In a matter of 30 days gas has gone up 10 cents a gallon,” said Leg. Tom Muratore, who co-sponsored the bill along with Leg. Jay Schneiderman, Leg. Ed Romaine, Leg. Kate Browning and former Suffolk legislator and now New York State Assemblyman Dan Losquadro.

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“The new law puts millions of dollars back into the pockets of residents and businesses of Suffolk County," Muratore said. "No one would have anticipated the tension and conflict in Egypt and the rest of the Middle East that continues to drive gas and fuel prices to the highest level in recent history. Government must learn how to do more with less.”

According to LongIslandGasPrices.com, the one-month average of the price of gas per gallon has risen from $3.36 on Jan. 28 to $3.59 on Feb. 28. 

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According to Robert Lipp, deputy director of the Suffolk County Legislature Budget Review Office, the savings for the average consumer is one penny per gallon, or $8 per year based on 12,000 miles/year at 20 mpg. Lipp projected the revenue the tax cap would have brought the county was $3.8 million (based on a $3.50 per gallon projection). The county budget is expected to be $1.9 billion next year.

Among other things the county is looking into is the current sales tax on home heating fuel, which Muratore would not comment on whether he and his colleagues would suspend the county tax on.

“We must reorganize, redirect and refocus our efforts to stabilize our local economy,” he said.

Romaine pointed to increased problems with the Federal Reserve and tensions in the Middle East as key issues to gas price inflation.

Oil prices “will be subject to wild gyrations, due to one of the oldest factors in the oil business — political tension and/or change in the Middle East,” Anthony Sabino, a professor of law at St. John’s University whose legal practice includes oil and gas law, told the Wall Street Journal this week.

“This is a message that we’ll not let county government be subject to the international crisis we see out there,” Leg. John Kennedy said. “We have to work smarter, we have to work better and we have to look at the alternative types of energy we’re putting in place.”

As for residents, most are up in the air about the plan and it's immediate impact.

"I think it might help a little bit; every little bit helps," said Claire McNeil, 47, of Holbrook, who was filling up at the Sunoco station on Veterans Memorial Highway. "It's good that they're trying. It's a start."

Steve Kreuter, 32, of East Yaphank, who also filled up at Sunoco, doesn't think taxes are the issue.

"Oil companies are good at raising prices, but not good at lowering them when prices go down," he said. "Every little bit helps. I don't know if it will make a huge difference."

Suffolk County Exec. Steve Levy signed off on the legislation in August.

Joseph Pinciaro and Shana Braff contributed to this story.


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