Assemblyman Jeff Gallahan (R,C-Manchester) joined his Assembly Minority colleagues from the Assembly yesterday in a press conference calling for the passage of the Inflation Relief & Consumer Assistance Plan (A.8481). The proposed legislation that would suspend state sales tax on everyday necessities such as fuel, prepared foods, and household products for two years. The plan was drafted to address increased prices in grocery stores and at gas pumps, which has forced many families to curb their spending and make difficult financial decisions due to their weakened buying power.

“Rising prices hurt all New Yorkers, but it hits working families the worst,” said Gallahan. “Even as many of our low-wage workers have enjoyed increases to their minimum wage, the impact of this growth in income has been blunted by increasing costs on just about everything a family would need to live. You can’t even buy things for a dollar at the dollar store anymore, and if that isn’t a sign that inflation is out of hand, I don’t know what is. Given our state is currently enjoying a $12.9 billion budget surplus, I believe we can afford to ease the collection of state sales taxes in order to give our residents some room to breathe financially.”