Suzio to Target Gas Tax at Town Hall Meeting in Middlefield Tuesday

State Sen. Len Suzio will host a Town Hall Meeting Tuesday in Middlefield, where he will address residents’ questions about the recently concluded legislative session and the variety of new tax hikes that have gone into effect.

The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. at the (downstairs).

Suzio, who opposed all attempts to raise taxes, is also asking residents to support his “Cap The Gas Tax” petition, which will be available at the Community Center for taxpayers to sign. 

To give consumers a break at the pumps, Suzio is proposing legislation to cap the state’s gross receipts tax on gasoline.

In a two-hour span last Thursday, more than 150 people signed Suzio’s gas tax petition outside of Everybody’s Market in Cheshire (see video).  In a similar event outside the Meriden Stop & Shop on August 1, more than 100 visitors signed Suzio’s petition.

“We seem to be picking up steam,” Suzio said of the petition, which he and other Republicans will eventually present to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. “People are fed up, and they should feel that way.  They are being overtaxed.”

Suzio’s bill would cap the state’s gross receipts tax on gasoline when prices at the pump top $3 per gallon. The state has two taxes on gas, one that the consumer pays directly and the other which is passed through to customers.  The tax the consumer pays directly is currently at 25 cents per gallon. But Connecticut also has a gross receipts tax that places a 7 percent levy on the distributors who buy the fuel wholesale. The gasoline retailers who buy the fuel from wholesalers ultimately pass the cost of the gross receipts tax they pay onto consumers.

“The response I am receiving from the public has been overwhelmingly positive, and I urge taxpayers to stop by the Community Center on Tuesday evening to say hello,” Suzio said.  “Connecticut is ranked number one in the continental U.S. for the most expensive gas.  We have got to find a way to provide relief from the pain at the pumps.  This petition drive can help us to achieve that goal.”

Sen. Suzio (www.senatorsuzio.com) represents Cheshire, Meriden, Middlefield, Middletown and Rockfall.