In response to the Letter to the Editor “Apples to Oranges: Why is Gas More in NY?,” which ran in the April 15 issue of North Country This Week, it’s an age old complaint from snow birds returning to New York that gas prices differ from state to state, and how New York is dramatically higher. To help everyone begin to understand some basis for differences, here are two key points. First, fuel taxes are very complicated (state, local, federal) and vary dramatically between locales. They can account for more than 25 cents of the differences (see api.org for current details). Second, like it or not, fuel is a publically traded commodity often negatively influenced by entities outside of the actual industry. As a result, wholesale fuel prices rise and drop as much as 15 cents (or more) in a day for no apparent reason. Unless you compare prices in multiple locations at the same time, you will always be comparing apples to oranges. Happy motoring.