ERIE COUNTY, N.Y. (WKBW) — If you've been on Walden Avenue or highways around Western New York, you may have noticed signs about gas tax relief expiring.
Carl Hasselback said he is behind the billboards to get people's attention about what's happening in Erie County. He said he is getting the word out that gas tax relief, which limits county taxes on gas and diesel sales, will expire in March 2024.
"It's a tax that falls in the worst possible place — on the people who have the least ability to pay for it," Hasselback said.
Right now, the county's gas tax is capped at $2 per gallon. An extension for this relief was unanimously approved by the county legislature back in March, and legislators will soon have the option to keep it or nix it.
Hasselback is part owner of Jim's Truck Stop in Cheektowaga, so if the relief goes away, he said gas prices will jump.
"I don't want to go to my customers and raise the price. No businessman — I don't care what you sell, food, furniture, whatever. It's not a happy day when you go to your customers and say, 'Hey our prices are higher today'," Hasselback said.
Minority Leader John Mills said he is happy to see Hasselback put up billboards around the county. He said the Republican Caucus does not want to see the relief go away.
"I don't believe in overtaxing the people I represent," Mills said.
Mills said when it comes time to discuss the gas relief, he will push for it.
"We're gonna continue to fight the good fight," Mills added.
Legislators will discuss this gas tax with the Budget Office and the Comptroller at a budget committee meeting to gauge what the impact would be if this tax relief is extended.
