ALBANY, N.Y. (NEXSTAR) — State Senator James Skoufis, an Orange County Democrat, introduced a bill on Friday that would require vendors to round cash purchases to the nearest five-cent denomination. “New Yorkers for Common Cents Act” would standardize how cash transactions are handled as the U.S. officially ends production of the penny.
The proposed S8580 is currently in the Senate Standing Committee on Rules and lacks an Assembly counterpart. It would make merchants in New York state follow a specific process to determine the actual price at the register, minimizing the use of pennies returned as change.
First, they’d have to total the sticker price of goods and services, make any discounts, and then add sales or other taxes. The resulting sum would then be rounded following simple math rules so the final purchase price ends in 0 or 5.
- If the total ends in one or two cents—$0.01 or $0.02—the sum gets rounded down to end in 0.
- If it ends in three or four cents—$0.03 or $0.04—the sum gets rounded up to end in 5.
- If it’s six or seven cents—$0.06 or $0.07—it gets rounded down to 5.
- For eight or nine cents—$0.08 or $0.09—it gets rounded up to 0.
Though the bill aims to smooth the transition for New Yorkers, customers might end up paying an extra cent or two on if the total is rounded up. It specifies that gains or losses from the rounding process couldn’t be taxed by the state or any municipality…