No Gas Tax Break, But Possible Help For Hybrid Drivers
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- May
- 9
From GNS reporter Dan Osburn:
The state Senate unanimously passed a bill on Wednesday that would make hybrid vehicles sales tax-free in the state.
If signed into law, the tax waiver would apply to hybrid gas-electric vehicles, vehicles which get over 35 miles per gallon or vehicles that do not rely on gasoline or diesel, according to the bill.
The bill is intended to encourage the purchase of hybrid vehicles after the tax credit that made them lucrative expired in 2005, according to the bill.
The tax exemption is expected to cost the state $36 million in lost tax revenue for the current fiscal year, and an additional $42 million for the 2008-09 fiscal year.
The same bill is awaiting a vote in the Assembly.
Mark Duffy, a spokesman for the Assembly Majority, said he’s “not sure” if the bill will be voted on before the end of the session in June. “It’s still being reviewed by committee,” he said.

Jay Gallagher has covered Albany for Gannett News Service since 1984 and has been Albany Bureau chief since 1989. He`s a native of the Boston area and likes to point out that in this millennium, the score is Red Sox 1 championship, the Yankees 0.
Cara Matthews has been a statehouse correspondent in the Albany Bureau since August 2005. Prior to that, she covered Putnam County government and politics at The Journal News for nearly five years. Before that, she worked at newspapers in Connecticut and covered the state Legislature for one of them. 







