The state Legislature's Republican representatives made headlines last week with their proposal to suspend the state's sales tax on gasoline in an effort to help the economy, particularly the summer tourism industry.

It's one of those ideas that sounds good when you first hear about it, but careful examination reveals some major flaws.

There's the issue of the state's finances. Number crunching by the state's fiscal professionals in recent weeks reveals some substantial budget deficits looming, fueled largely by a drop in income tax revenues as people are simply earning less to pay taxes on. Gov. David Paterson is wisely looking at ways to bring down spending in order to prepare, but to take another chunk of revenue away in the form of gasoline taxes would greatly undermine this effort.

There's also the issue of effectiveness. The theory is that by dropping state gas taxes, which equate to roughly 33 cents per gallon, the price at the pump will go down. The likelihood that the oil companies and service stations will pass these savings along is questionable at best.

For an example of how it might work, look at the stations now owned by American Indian tribes, which are not collecting sales taxes. Most of those stations do offer cheaper gas, but only by a few cents. They're keeping the rest as profit.

And that's essentially what this sales tax suspension could do - subsidize profits.

Some readers might label our stance as inconsistent with our past position in favor of sales tax caps at the county and city levels. There is a key difference in the two situations, however.

A cap simply keeps taxes in check as the retail price goes up. New York's gas taxes are actually capped, which we feel is good policy.

The GOP legislators are proposing to drop the tax completely.

The best approach going forward is to keep existing caps in place, and to get to work on spending cuts, which are the most sure-fire way to help New Yorkers save some money.