Buffalo, NY (WBEN) The price at the gas pump should begin to drop more quickly as local lawmakers begin the process to to put a hold on local portions of gas sales taxes.
Gas tax suspensions will be voted on this week in Niagara and Erie County's legislatures, and both are expected to pass, with ceilings possibly at different levels.
In Niagara County, Legislature Chairperson Becky Wydysh says a special meeting will be held Monday to vote on suspending the county's gas tax after $3 per gallon. "What that means is after anything after $3, we'll stop charging our 4% gas tax to hopefully add on to that 16 cents that the state is doing on their end, and make a difference for our drivers here in Niagara County," says Wydysh.
Wydysh says savings from the county could range from 4 to 9 cents per gallon, but she says with the 16 cent savings from New York State, it could make a major difference. "That can be the difference of a few meals for a family that's living paycheck to paycheck and struggling to make ends meet right now with everything else that's happening with inflation," says Wydysh.
Wydysh says she's received support from residents and expects the suspension to pass, but there is one concern on her mind. "We want to get everyone together with everyone in the room where we can ask questions and be sure that we're doing this in a way that is going to help our taxpayers and not just shift this burden to another area of taxation because that wouldn't help them," says Wydysh. She says she wants to look at the numbers as far as the sales tax the county's collecting and what this would mean to revenue lost by capping the tax and making sure that can be sustained without just shifting it to another area in the budget.
Erie County's legislature meets on Thursday to vote on suspending its share of the gas tax. Legislator John Gilmour says it will be approved, but the question is "where the rate is going to be whether it's going to be the minimum, which is $2, or if it's going to be somewhere in between, like $3." Gilmour says he's pushing for the cap to be at $2 per gallon.
Gilmour says people have been in favor of this. "They're hurting, everything has gone up. The price of lumber, gas groceries, their home, gas and power utility bills are all skyrocketing. And guess what hasn't gone up? Wages," says Gilmour.
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Gilmour says that would add another 12 cents in savings.