OPINION: Rejecting the New York State Carbon Tax

[I] recently participated in an Assembly Environmental Conservation Committee hearing discussing New York’s rapid transition to full electrification of the economy as a way to influence climate change. 

As the ranking minority member of the committee and an avid outdoorsman, [I am] keenly aware of environmental concerns over the cost of carbon. New taxes on gasoline, diesel, propane, natural gas, propane, and fuel oil are bad for the economy at this time.

With inflation running at the highest levels in the past 30 years, and no end in sight, New York is not in the position to implement drastic changes at the moment.

The tax-and-spend ideas I’ve heard from environmental advocates compromise an already-struggling economy and will directly target the rural people who use energy to take care of their families. We can’t support it right now, and I can’t support any initiative that takes from those struggling to make ends meet.

The idea of another new tax when New York is already the highest tax state in the country is deeply flawed. The continued search for sustainable energy is important, but to implement these changes without reliable or affordable alternatives already identified is the wrong move.      

Robert Smullen is the Republican representative of the 118th New York Assembly District, which encompasses Hamilton and Fulton counties as well as parts of Herkimer, Oneida, and St. Lawrence counties. This article is drawn from a news release his office issued on Dec. 3.