Pricey Plates a ‘License’ to Overspend in Albany

Assemblyman David Townsend (R,WF-Sylvan Beach) called the abandonment of a proposed $25 license plate fee by Governor David Paterson a victory for Upstate drivers fed up with the tax-and-spend habits of the New York City-dominated state legislature. The scheme was passed in the 2009-10 state budget – a $132 billion measure Townsend voted against – and required all drivers renewing their registrations after April 1, 2010, to pay 40 percent above the current charge for new license plates, in addition to a $20 charge for those motorists wishing to keep their existing license-plate numbers. The license-plate fee was part of a litany of nuisance taxes and new and increased user fees totaling $8 billion in the state budget. It is estimated that New York families are paying an additional $2,400 this year as a result of Albany’s fiscal recklessness.

“The proposed plates fee was nothing more than a license for Albany to continue its profligate ways,” said Townsend. “The grassroots action that I have seen, from petition drives to letters to the editor to protests at the Capitol, has further confirmed for me that public opinion can change state government and improve the lives of taxpayers. Dropping the extra $25 for new license plates was a good start, but we ought to look more seriously at the other taxpayer-mandated fees and nuisance taxes used by Albany to cover its habitual overspending. Governor Paterson and his New York City allies may have been rebuffed in their latest scheme to loot the wallets of more Upstate residents, but the fight to reclaim our state for hard-working taxpayers is far from over.”

Pricey Plates a ‘License’ to Overspend in Albany

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