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State Sen. Ritchie votes for plan to eliminate 33 cents in gasoline taxes on holiday weekends

Posted 5/26/11

State Sen. Patty Ritchie voted in favor of a bill passed by the Senate Tuesday that would temporarily eliminate the 33 cents a gallon New Yorkers pay in taxes on gasoline during three holiday …

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State Sen. Ritchie votes for plan to eliminate 33 cents in gasoline taxes on holiday weekends

Posted

State Sen. Patty Ritchie voted in favor of a bill passed by the Senate Tuesday that would temporarily eliminate the 33 cents a gallon New Yorkers pay in taxes on gasoline during three holiday weekends this summer.

The savings could take effect as soon as this weekend if the Assembly passes the bill, it is signed by the governor, and municipalities adopt it by then.

The law would give each municipality the option of participating in the gas tax suspension, the senator said.

The bill would suspend the three separate state taxes on fuel -- the 8-cent excise tax, the 8-cent sales tax, and the 17-cent petroleum business tax -- during the busy four-day Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor Day holiday weekends, Ritchie said.

Ritchie said that, according to the American Petroleum Institute, New Yorkers pay the second highest gasoline taxes in the nation. The bill she supported would require that the lowered price be passed on to customers.

“Central and Northern New York heavily depend on the tourists who visit our region, especially during the holiday weekends,” Ritchie said.

“This bill would give Canadians another reason to cross the border and visitors from surrounding states to come to New York.”