Holiday Gas Tax Relief Coming To The East End?
Will lower gas prices help beat the summer heat?
Local State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. along with some of his lawmaking colleagues have been working on legislation that would discard gasoline taxes on Memorial Day weekend, July 4th and Labor Day weekend to help fuel the state’s economy on these holiday weekends.
Thiele acknowledges, due to unfortunate timing, that the legislation will not pass the governor’s approval before Memorial Day, but he still remains optimistic it may be in effect before July 4 and Labor Day.
“We are focusing on the 4th of July and Labor Day being Memorial Day Weekend is only a week away,” says Thiele, who has been a busy man this year on the East End.
The proposition, which has statewide implications, would greatly stimulate and support both the local and the state economy.
“We have a bill that we believe in that can help the state’s economy by omitting gas taxes,” tells Thiele. The Assemblyman’s proposed legislature would exclude gas taxes for three main summer holidays in attempt to attract more people to New York State as well as mobilize residents. However, Governor Cuomo contests that the state may lose too much in state revenue.
The Governor, according to Thiele, contends that this action may affect the state’s budget too much by losing gas taxes for the summer’s three largest holidays, though Thiele rebuttals that additional tax revenue created by restaurants, local shops and stores will substantially overcompensate for lost state income.
“By omitting gas taxes more people will come to New York and spend money in other outlets,” says Thiele.
The legislature is modeled similarly to measures taken by the state around the time when kids go back to school, where the state suspends clothing tax to facilitate shopping for that particular weekend. Thiele believes removing gas taxes for those selected weekends will have a comparable effect.
“On long weekends people want to take trips,” says the Assemblyman.
In a gas-conscious society, suspending gas taxes for a weekend would have a psychological effect on society.
“People on the edge of vacation will now go and make those trips to the beach, the East End, or the Adirondacks,” adds Thiele.
Gas prices tend to go up around holiday weekends, though exempting gas taxes for a particular weekend could save customers thirty cents a gallon, which they would spend in other outlets, like in local shops or eateries.
This proposal originally came to state legislatures last year, who were further encouraged by its response even though it never came to fruition.
“We introduced this idea last year and it almost got passed,” informs Thiele. “That’s why we brought it back again this year.”
The Hamptons are a summer community. The South Fork, which is complemented by its world-renowned beaches, delectable restaurants and marvelous summer homes, has a summer-stimulated economy, and it relies heavily on its summer residents to pay for yearlong expenses.
The state’s economy is still volatile and needs a capitalist push. Tourism in the state has been down in recent years with the exception of New York City. Why? The state’s high tax rate keeps out-of-staters from coming to New York, and many New Yorkers also choose to vacation out of state taking their New York money with them. Omitting a gas tax would work as a catalyst to jumpstarting New York State’s depleted economy and diminishing tourism market. Hamptons communities as well as other summer resort towns, like Lake George, would benefit greatly from this legislation.
This is an innovative approach, and at the very least it should be experimented. For Thiele, “this is a great way to get them out to the East End to enjoy the summer and hopefully spend some more money.”