HIGHLAND – A month from now, as the summer driving season gets underway, New Yorkers will enjoy a gas tax holiday for the remainder of the year from June 1 to December 31.
Drivers will save 21-cents a gallon, 16 cents from the state, eight cents for fuel and eight cents for sales tax, while Ulster County knocks off an additional nickel off with a tax reduction.
“We did this because costs are skyrocketing everywhere,” said state Senator Michelle Hinchey (D-Saugerties), after gathering county elected officials at a gas station to highlight the tax holiday. “Food is increasing, the cost of travel is increasing, cost of living, rent, mortgages are increasing, and the costs at the gas pump have increased dramatically. And we need people to be able to afford to live here in New York as we face record inflation. Government has to step in and do what we can to make living here more affordable. And changing the gas pump price is one way we can tangibly do that.”
The average price for a gallon of gas in the state is $4.25, down about 20-cents from two months ago during the onset of the Russia/Ukraine War. And the reduction will help spillover support for small businesses like restaurants, many of which faced closure during the last major gas price surge more than 15 years ago.
“Everything has a ripple effect, and everything is connected, and so to able to have someone save money at gas pump helps quality of life, it helps our communities, and helps people to be able to live here,” said Hinchey.
