Legislature OKs earlier end to temporary cap on gas sales tax collection

A planned cap on Suffolk County’s gasoline sales tax collection, aimed at temporarily helping consumers facing high gas prices, will expire on Dec. 1 instead of Dec. 31, officials said Monday.

The County Legislature pushed up the cap's expiration date Monday to comply with a state sales tax collection deadline, Presiding Officer Kevin McCaffrey (R-Lindenhurst) said. County Executive Steve Bellone, a Democrat, will have to sign off on the measure.

Under the program, which starts June 1, the county won't collect sales tax on gas purchases over $3 per gallon.

Based on the average gas price in Suffolk County — $4.34 per gallon Monday, according to AAA, the motorist and travel membership organization — drivers would pay a county sales tax rate of 4.25% on the first $3 per gallon. The remaining $1.34 would not be taxed under the cap.

The six-month cap should save motorists about 4.5 cents per gallon, McCaffrey said. That's on top of the state lowering its taxes by 16 cents a gallon.  

"The county's trying to do its part to lessen the burden on motorists, who are paying abnormally high gas prices for many reasons," McCaffrey said. 

Nassau County adopted a similar tax cap last month. The average gas price there is $4.35, which is about the state average, according to AAA.

Legislators had approved the program last month with a Dec. 31 expiration date, following the calendar of a state law that allows New York counties to halt local gas taxes from June 1 to Dec. 31. But that deadline would have fallen in the middle of a fiscal quarter, according to the state tax filing calendar. 

The cap will instead end on Dec. 1, the end of the third fiscal quarter.

Suffolk collects about $80 million in gas sales tax a year, McCaffrey said. The county is foregoing an estimated $15 million in revenue with the tax cap, he said.

When Nassau and Suffolk counties passed their caps in mid-April, the average price of gas in New York was $4.21 per gallon, up from $2.89 a year prior, AAA said.

AAA said gas prices have continued to rise because of the high price of crude oil and concerns of a global energy supply disruption due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

McCaffrey said he is hopeful gas prices will stabilize by the end of the year. But if they don't before the cap ends, county officials will examine other potential ways to provide relief, he said.

By Rachelle Blidner

rachelle.blidner@newsday.com@rachelleblidner

Rachelle Blidner covers Suffolk County government, politics and breaking news.