Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Starting June 1, more relief will come to residents of Erie County at the gas pump.
After being presented with a resolution by Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz on Tuesday to temporarily cap the County's sales tax on gas at $2 per-gallon, Erie County Legislators voted unanimously in favor of the motion.
"I know at first there were some concerns or questions, or really a desire to cap it at $3, but I think after looking at the numbers and looking at the fact that it's not going to have any effect on the county sales tax revenues or budget, capping it at $3 would only have saved motorists approximately 50-60 cents per-fill up," said Legislature Minority Leader, Joe Lorigo.
With this resolution being approved by the Legislature, County taxpayers could see up to an 11-cent reduction per-gallon, based on current rates at the pumps. It will also add on to the 16 cents per-gallon reduction the New York State will provide from June 1 to Dec. 31.
Erie County's cap on the sales tax of gasoline extend from June 1 all the way through Feb. 28, 2023.
While this resolution voted on by the Legislature is only temporary, Lorigo is hoping this cap on the sales tax for gas will eventually become permanent.
"$2 was the way to go," Lorigo said. "At a time when people in this community and across the country are dealing with inflation and prices going up at an alarming rate, anything that we can do as Erie County lawmakers is something that we should look into. The fact that we're able to do this, I think, is beneficial. I hope that residents and drivers can benefit... and I do think that we should look at possibly extending this as a permanent situation once we see how it works out over the next few months."
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