Rich families in New York State will benefit nearly six times as much as the poorest from a state gas tax “holiday,” according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics household consumer-expenditures data for 2018 and 2019.
For every $100 in erased state gas and diesel-fuel taxes, the highest-earning quintile (20 percent) of households will take $35.50. The next most prosperous 20 percent don’t do too shabbily, either, getting $27.40. Yep, the top 40 percent earners will pocket 63 percent of the cash.
The poorest? Per $100 giveback, the lowest one-fifth of families get a $6.20 cut: two trips on a subway plus a few sticks of gum. For every buck pocketed by someone at the top, folks at the bottom get 17 cents.
As most readers know, gasoline tax holidays — suspensions or reductions in state gas levies — are shaping up as the primary U.S. policy response to runaway gas prices. Maryland and Georgia have already
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