NYS tire surcharges: here to stay

Syracuse, NY - For the past six years, the state has been adding two dollars and fifty cents to every new tire sold. The money was supposed to pay for the cleanup of old tire dumps, and when the work was complete, the fee was supposed to end.

But now that the work is done, Governor Paterson wants to keep the fee in place. Christine Fedele is the manager of Iroquois Tire in Solvay. She believes the state is looking for anything to keep the money coming in.

"People are going to have to buy tires. People are keeping their cars because of the economic situation. They're not going out and buying new ones, so people are going to have to replace their tires and this fee is a guaranteed fee," said Fedele.

But other drivers think the tire tax isn't that big of a deal.

"Tires are already so expensive, so the $2.50 won't really make that big of a difference, especially when you're buying tires and it's $10 and you're already paying $300," said Renee Brown of Syracuse.

The State Legislature will decide whether the tire fee remains in effect when they vote on the budget in the coming weeks.

Christine Fedele also said if you buy a new car and it comes with a spare tire, you're charged for the spare tire. So it would come out to be twelve dollars and fifty cents if you buy a new car.