Legislature relents, will cut 5 cents in gas taxes

We need to do whatever we can to help islanders fill up without breaking the bank.” NEW YORK STATE SENATOR ANNA M. KAPLAN

Gas could be a little cheaper in Nassau County this summer after officials here approved a nickel per gallon tax cut at the pump.

County Executive Bruce Blakeman joined the majority caucus of the county legislature Monday night to temporarily lower the tax. While the savings might not seem like a lot, it joins the 16 cents per gallon tax reduction taken by the state and Gov. Kathy Hochul last week. 

The countywide savings would affect only prices above $3 per gallon starting June 1 and continuing through the rest of the year. Blakeman — who blamed the rise in gas prices on administrations in both Albany and Washington — called the emergency vote after some pressure from Nassau’s Democrats.

In fact, the county’s minority caucus proposed suspending nearly double the taxes on any fuel in Nassau exceeding $2 between the beginning of June all the way to next March 1. If passed, that combined with statewide relief could have lowered prices by as much as 25 cents, assuming gas stations passed those savings on to customers.

“When the minority caucus began advocating for a gasoline sales tax holiday on March 9, the majority and county executive resorted to ridiculous partisan attacks to cover up the fact that they dropped the ball,” minority leader Kevan Abrahams said. “We continued to fight in the ensuing weeks to put money directly back into the pockets of Nassau residents during trying times — they remained on the sidelines.”

Blakeman and Republicans did not appear to be in support of any tax relief proposals as late as last month, blaming price jumps on federal and state policies orchestrated by Democrats that he said greatly reduced domestic production. 

"I would hope that those minority legislators lobby their colleagues in Albany and Washington to reopen the Keystone XL pipeline,” Blakeman told news outlets at the time, “and take other measures which would lower energy costs and make America more secure."

On the steps of the legislature building Monday, Long Island Democrats rallied with drivers to call on Blakeman and his Suffolk County counterpart to follow Hochul’s example and cut taxes.

“The pain at the pump is real, and we need to do whatever we can to help Long Islanders fill up without breaking the bank,” state Sen. Anna Kaplan, a Democrat, said. “I fought hard to cut the gas tax in New York, and now I’m calling on Bruce Blakeman to follow our lead and do the same thing so that people in our community can get some real relief from these rising costs.”

Gas prices are averaging $4.06 per gallon as of April 4 downstate, according to the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. While that’s a 46 percent jump from a year ago, it’s a quarter cheaper than reported highs of $4.31 last month.

Fuel has averaged above $3 per gallon since the beginning of June last year.

“This is not a partisan issue,” another Democrat, state Sen. Jim Gaughran, said. “This is a bipartisan plea for everybody to reduce their share of the gas tax.”

The local tax relief is not expected to hurt county coffers. Because Nassau’s tax is a percentage, the county has collected far more in taxes as prices rose. That, according to Democratic county legislator Arnie Drucker, could allow the county to still finish ahead in terms of overall tax revenue.

“We cannot afford to politicize an opportunity — and, in my opinion, an obligation — that is neither Democratic nor Republican to deliver immediate relief to families here in Nassau County,” Drucker said. Especially “as they struggle to make ends meet.”

Nadia Holubnyczyj of Floral Park pleaded with Democratic lawmakers for the tax cut.

“We need to do this and we need to stop this bickering and knee-jerk reaction of something being proposed by the minority, and a knee-jerk reaction of saying no,” she said. “Stop and think of the residents.”