CITIZEN POWER ALLIANCE

ALBANY – Republicans in the State Senate led by Majority Leader Joseph Bruno and in the Assembly, led by James Tedisco, Wednesday both called for a sales tax holiday during the summer months as a means of taking a little of the financial pinch off motorists who are rapidly facing $4 for a gallon of gasoline.

It is a given the proposal will make it through the Senate, which is controlled by the GOP; however, Republicans in the Assembly are in a vast minority. The proposal is dead in the water as Democrat Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has nixed it, blaming the Bush administration to refusing to take any action “to rein in huge oil company profits” and for its failure to put in place “an effective energy policy.”

Silver said the gas tax is already capped at the $2 per gallon level, so the rising cost of gas does not result in greater revenues for the state. To cut the tax during the summer would result in a $500 million shortfall in revenues that are dedicated to road and bridge construction across the state. Democrat Kingston Assemblyman Kevin Cahill supports that line of reasoning.

The Republican plans would see some 30 cents per gallon shaved off the pump price from Memorial Day to Labor Day.