Rockland County Capping Sales Tax on Gasoline Through February 2023

Rockland County Executive Ed Day and Rockland County Legislature Chairman Jay Hood Jr. have announced that the local sales tax on motor fuel will be capped at $2 per gallon. The change means sales tax will only be applied to the first $2 of a gasoline purchase, opposed to the full gas price consumers are currently paying which is now over $4 a gallon.

The 2022 New York State Budget provides a suspension of the state excise and sales tax, providing a combined 16 cents per gallon savings to consumers, from June 1, 2022, through December 31, 2022.

To provide additional savings to Rockland County families, the County Executive and County Legislature made the joint decision to cap the local sales tax on motor fuel at $2 per gallon effective June 1, 2022, through February 28, 2023, two months longer than New York State’s tax suspensions.

At the current price of gasoline, this cap will generate approximately 8 cents in additional savings for consumers which, when coupled with state tax suspensions, should result in an estimated 24 cents in relief at the gas pump starting this summer.

County officials chose not to suspend the motor fuel sales tax entirely to avoid a major deficit in this year’s 2022 budget.

Rockland County officials hope this resolution, combined with the actions of New York State, provides financial relief to families.

𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐲 𝐄𝐱𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐄𝐝 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝, “Between the record-inflation, rising gas prices, and the pandemic, our families need help now and Rockland County leadership worked expeditiously to deliver it. The role of government is to create an environment where residents can thrive, not to make money or profiteer off families feeling the duress of a strained economy. We hope that this cap provides some much-needed reprieve to Rockland County families. We are committed to doing whatever we can to support our residents and will not stop working to improve the lives of those who call this county home.”

𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐲 𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐁𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐭 & 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐀𝐫𝐨𝐧 𝐖𝐢𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝,“People are being squeezed financially on so many fronts, including for food and even the price of keeping their home warm. Something had to be done to bring relief to people who have no choice but to drive to work, the grocery store, the doctor’s office, and other places. We can’t control everything contributing to the increases, but we can bring at least some relief by suspending the gas tax.”