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Gas Tax Breaks Give Central New Yorkers Some Relief At the Pump Central New Yorkers Get Some Relief At the Gas Pump

By Dylan Johnson

Janelle Pottinger: GAS PRICES ARE STILL SKY HIGH, BUT THERE MAY BE SOME RELIEF ON THE WAY FOR CENTRAL NEW YORKERS.
OUR DYLAN JOHNSON JOINS US TO TELL US WHAT KIND OF RELIEF WE CAN EXPECT TO SEE.

Dylan Johnson: TODAY DRIVERS MAY FEEL BETTER ABOUT BEING ON THE ROAD BECAUSE THE GAS TAX HOLIDAY BEGINS, AS ONONDAGA COUNTY AND NEW YORK STATE BOTH TRY TO CUT GAS PRICES THAT CONTINUE TO CLIMB.

Hakim Morris: I’m on house arrest at this point. Like really, it’s crazy.

Johnson: HAKIM MORRIS IS TALKING ABOUT GAS PRICES. HE’S A SYRACUSE RESIDENT AND LIKE MANY CENTRAL NEW YORKERS IS STRUGGLING TO ADAPT TO RECORD HIGH PRICES.

Morris: I’ve had to get rides from people, get a bike just stuff like that honestly. Sometimes I even walk.

Johnson: THAT’S BECAUSE ACCORDING TO TRIPLE-A, A GALLON OF GAS IN SYRACUSE IS FOUR DOLLARS AND EIGHTY-FIVE CENTS ON AVERAGE.
THAT NUMBER JUMPS TO FOUR NINETY-TWO ACROSS NEW YORK STATE.
A YEAR AGO BOTH WERE JUST MORE THAN THREE DOLLARS PER GALLON.

Morris: It’s summer. I wanna go out, but I can’t because gas prices are so high.

Johnson: SO WHILE THE PRICE OF THIS FEELS LIKE AS MUCH AS ITS EVER BEEN, SOMETHING’S BEING DONE IN ONONDAGA COUNTY AND NEW YORK STATE TO MAKE IT NOT HURT SO MUCH ON THIS.

Valerie Puma: Basically what New York State is doing is setting kind of a cap and getting rid of the sales and excise taxes on gasoline now that all of the gasoline fuel prices have really spiked in the last couple of months.

Johnson: THAT TAX BREAK LASTS THROUGH THE YEAR AND SAVES DRIVERS 16 CENTS A GALLON.
ONONDAGA COUNTY CAPPED ITS SALES TAX THROUGH NOVEMBER, SAVING DRIVERS ANOTHER 12 CENTS PER GALLON.
THIS COMES AS PUMA SAID MORE THAN 35 MILLION AMERICANS DROVE FOR MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND TRAVEL.

Puma: There’s a very pent-up demand for people just wanting to get out of the house. So having any amount of discount is going to be helpful to motorists, especially with everything we’ve been seeing these last couple of weeks.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — Tax breaks on gas both in New York state and in Onondaga County went into effect today.

“Basically what New York state is doing is setting kind of a cap and getting rid of the sales and excise taxes on gasoline now that all of the gasoline fuel prices have really spiked in the last couple of months,” said Valerie Puma, a communication specialist with AAA.

Those state breaks amount to 16 cents per gallon, and last through the end of the year.

Onondaga County taxes gasoline at 4% sales tax, which comes to 12 cents a gallon for gasoline purchased at $3 a gallon. With a cap in place, the sales tax won’t rise beyond that amount, regardless of how high the price of gas rises. The cap will expire Nov. 30, unless county lawmakers extend it

Hakim Morris is a Syracuse resident and like many Central New Yorkers, he’s struggling to adapt to record-high prices.

“I’ve had to get rides from people, get a bike just stuff like that honestly,” Morris said. “Sometimes I even walk.”

According to AAA, a gallon of gas in Syracuse is $4.85 on average. As of Tuesday, the New York state average is $4.93, compared to $3.08 a year ago. The national average price for a gallon of gasoline was $4.62. One year ago, the price was $3.05.

“It’s summer. I wanna go out, but I can’t because gas prices are so high,” Morris said. “I’m on house arrest at this point.”

Morris isn’t alone. Puma said more than 35 million people drove for Memorial Day travel.

“There’s a very pent-up demand for people just wanting to get out of the house,” Puma said. “So having any amount of discount is going to be helpful to motorists, especially with everything we’ve been seeing these last couple of weeks.”

To conserve gas, AAA recommends people map routes, avoid peak traffic times like rush hour and combine errands into one trip while using cruise control when possible. It also recommends drivers make sure tire pressure is at the vehicle’s recommended level for the best gas mileage while removing any unnecessary and bulky items from the car since it takes more fuel to accelerate a heavy vehicle.

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