Gas Tax Cut and Capped Drastically By Dutchess County - Capped At $.08/Gallon

First proposed in March 2022, shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine as gasoline prices started spiking, Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro and County Legislature Chairman Gregg Pulver proposed that the gas tax collected by Dutchess County be cut and capped to $.08 effective June 1, 2022. Currently, the County collects 3.75% of the total sale of a customer’s fuel purchase. New York State requires that sales tax be collected on gas, according to a press release from the County Executive.

That formula must be either a cents-per-gallon or a percentage of the total sales. Dutchess County opted for the percentage model, and picked 3.75%. From the County press release, “if a gallon of gas costs $4.25 for example, the County receives $.16 per gallon in sales tax. Under County Executive Molinaro’s proposal, the County would implement a cents-per-gallon methodology, rather than a percentage of a climbing price, with county sales tax charged only on the first $2 of the per-gallon gasoline price, or a total of $.08 per gallon.”

“County will cut and cap sales tax collection on gasoline with a change to its sales tax calculation for retail motor fuel and diesel motor fuel purchases, providing the maximum benefit for consumers allowed under State law,” according to a press release issued by the County.

As explained by Colleen T. Pillus, Communications Director for Dutchess County Executive Office in a reminder email sent to the media at the end of May: “The amount of county sales tax collected on each gallon of retail motor fuel will be capped at $.08. Under the current sales tax methodology, consumers pay 3.75% county sales tax on their total motor fuel purchase, in addition to a myriad of other State and federally imposed taxes and fees.”

As an aside, when Dutchess County cut sales tax on clothing under $100, Colleen confirmed that sales tax from gas sales collected in Dutchess County is one of the largest generators of income for type of sales tax, compared with clothing, online sales, and other goods. She told A Little Beacon Blog: “ The state has previously shared that the two largest areas of sales tax generation are gasoline sales and auto sales – this is statewide, not just Dutchess.”

According to Colleen’s email to the media, “Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro, together with Legislature Chairman Gregg Pulver, first proposed this cut and cap in March and the County Legislature adopted it in April, numerous other counties followed Dutchess County’s lead in this effort to provide some relief to consumers. The earliest date it could go into effective under NYS law is June 1st.”

The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance did send out notice to retailers alerting them of the upcoming cut and cap with the notice found here.