Gary LeBeau

LeBeau Hails Passage of Plan to Save Money at The Pump, Fight Oil Profiteering

Democrats’ plan protects against price gouging, puts a cap on the gross receipts tax

With the threat of gasoline costing $5 or more per gallon this summer, state Senator Gary D. LeBeau (D-East Hartford) joined his Senate colleagues today in passing a bill that will help provide relief at the pump while simultaneously protecting consumers from profiteering and price gouging by big oil wholesalers.

“This bill is really more about protecting consumers from future increases in gas prices than it is about saving a few pennies per gallon right now,” Sen. LeBeau said. ‘This is also a very comprehensive consumer protection bill, and it does it all while balancing our need for road and bridge repair funds while helping Connecticut drivers.”

The bill was approved on a unanimous and bipartisan 36-0 vote and now heads to the House of Representatives for consideration. If approved there and signed into law by Governor Dannel P. Malloy, it would take effect immediately.

The Democrats’ plan places a cap on the state’s gross receipts tax on petroleum, taxing 7 percent of only the first $3 of the wholesale price of gasoline, no matter how high the wholesale price goes (the wholesale price has increased 40 cents per gallon—more than 15 percent—in the past 90 days).

Moderate- and lower-income families feel the rising price of gasoline and regressive gas taxes especially hard, and this measure is expected to save Connecticut consumers at least $4.9 million this year, and least $5.4 million next year.

Just as importantly, the bill also strengthens protections against price gouging, cracks down on oil profiteering, and requires that any savings achieved by the gross receipts tax cap be passed along to consumers.

For more on the bill, please visit: http://www.cga.ct.gov/2012/TOB/S/2012SB-00457-R00-SB.htm