Dutchess, Putnam move to lower prices at pump
Legislators in Dutchess and Putnam counties this week advanced measures that would temporarily lower taxes on gas purchases.
The average price per gallon in the area has risen to more than $4 per gallon, up from $3 a month ago, largely due to U.S. and Israeli attacks that prompted Iran to close the Strait of Hormuz, a major route for tankers.
A resolution to limit Putnam's 4 percent sales tax to the first $3 per gallon passed the Legislature's Budget and Finance Committee, which includes all nine legislators, on Monday (March 30). The proposal, which will be considered by the full Legislature again at its monthly meeting on Tuesday (April 7), would be in effect from June 1, 2026, to Dec. 31, 2027. It would not reduce state taxes, which are 24.18 cents per gallon, or the federal tax, which is 18.4 cents.
"We are doing what we can do to help the families of Putnam County," said Legislator William Gouldman of Putnam Valley, who introduced the measure. "Government should not benefit from higher prices."
The Dutchess Legislature is preparing a similar exemption from the county's 3.75 percent sales tax, said its chair, Yvette Valdés Smith, whose district includes part of Beacon. Like Putnam, the proposal would suspend taxes over $3 per gallon, beginning on June 1 and continuing for at least six months. It will be introduced at the Budget and Finance Committee meeting on Thursday (April 9), she said.

Putnam approved a similar temporary exemption in April 2022, when the average price in New York was $4.21 per gallon. The tax break began at $2 per gallon and lasted until Dec. 1 of the same year. The current proposal originally ended June 1, 2027, but the Legislature's chair, Dan Birmingham, won passage of an amendment to extend it through next year.
"Whether it's an international crisis now with the Iranian conflict, or whether it's something else that drives it up to $5 or $6 next year, I'd still rather not have this county government profit off of whatever calamity" might come, he said.
Rockland County last month put a cap on taxes over $3 per gallon from June 1, 2026, to March 1, 2027.
Consumer prices and the cost of living have become early flashpoints for the national midterm elections in November. A poll last month by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 45 percent of 1,150 U.S. adults surveyed were "extremely" or "very" concerned about being able to afford gas in the next few months, up from 30 percent shortly after Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential election. The most recent poll had a 4 percent margin of error.
Beyond visits to the pump, analysts say higher fuel costs will trickle into groceries, which must be restocked frequently and could also see price hikes as transportation and packaging costs pile up. The U.S. Postal Service is seeking an 8 percent temporary surcharge on some of its popular products, including Priority Mail. U.S. diesel, used for many freight and delivery trucks, costs an average of $5.45 per gallon, up from $3.76 a gallon before the war began, according to AAA.

Only two states have suspended all or part of their gas taxes. Georgia removed its 33-cent-per-gallon tax on March 20 for 60 days (followed by a warning to retailers from the state attorney general to pass along the savings), and Utah reduced its 38-cent-per-gallon tax by 6 cents for six months beginning July 1.
California charges a nationally high tax of 61 cents per gallon; a gallon of gas averaged $5.89 per gallon on Thursday, according to AAA. In Maryland, Republicans pushed for a 30-day gas tax holiday, but Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, said it would cost the state $100 million. In Connecticut, Democratic leaders want Gov. Ned Lamont to tap an emergency fund to cover a 30-day suspension of the state's 25-cent tax.
Roughly half the price at the pump pays for the crude oil, the main ingredient in gasoline, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administra...

Gas Tax Holiday