They first tried it in 2009, and the public backlash was so heavy they rolled it back. And now, as if New Yorkers aren’t taxed enough, they’re thinking about it again: a payroll tax to shovel more money at the black hole known as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
The tax hit small businesses where it hurt the most, and local governments had to pay a levy on top of the taxes they already collected from the citizenry. The state reduced the rate and limited the list of those who have to pay it, but the payroll tax is still lurking. With the new congestion pricing scheme recently imposed to milk motorists in Manhattan, Long Island officials are apoplectic over talk of resurrecting the payroll fee.
“Instead of burdening hardworking taxpayers and businesses with yet another increase, tax or fee, the MTA must take accountability for its long-standing issues of mismanagement, fraud, and waste,” said Senator Dean Murray, who is leading the payroll tax opposition. They are calling for the establishment of a financial control board as a way to bring fiscal responsibility and transparency to the cash-gobbling agency.
The MTA is on track to spend $19.9 billion this year, with a budget-busting $68.4 billion capital plan on tap. Its Chairman and CEO, Janno Leiber, has indicated that the agency is facing a $33 billion budget deficit and has not come up with specific plans to address the shortfall. He has suggested that determining funding sources is up to the state legislature and Governor Kathy Hochul.
The state Senate’s Republican Conference reached out to the governor and Democrat leaders in both houses of the legislature to “make it clear that under no circumstances should the full reinstatement of the MTA payroll tax be considered as a solution to closing the MTA’s budget shortfalls.”
To restore fiscal integrity to the MTA, according to the conference, two critical steps should be taken. First, conducting a forensic audit will provide full transparency into the agency’s finances and uncover waste, fraud, and inefficiencies. Second, appointing a Financial Control Board to oversee the MTA’s finances will impose strict financial discipline, close budget shortfalls, and implement necessary reforms to keep the agency on a sustainable path. “These measures will help rebuild public trust and ensure the MTA operates efficiently for the millions of New Yorkers who depend on it,” they said.
“The MTA cannot expect the small businesses, workers, and families already besieged with high taxes and the cost of living in New York to pony up every time they need money,” said Assemblyman Joseph DeStefano. “We’ve had enough. Before we throw another dime into this black hole, the governor must wring out the MTA from top to bottom and tell us where all the money went.”
The Suffolk legislators were joined by Nassau County Senator Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick of the 9th District in their effort to ward off the payroll tax. “The MTA’s long history of fiscal mismanagement is in need of real reform. We must continue to hold the MTA accountable and ensure that taxpayers and businesses are not forced to foot the bill for its ongoing failures,” she said. “It would be simply unacceptable and irresponsible for the state to attempt to address the MTA’s fiscal woes through an increase in the payroll tax rather than focusing on long-term solutions that promote fiscal responsibility and efficiency.”
One area would be cracking down on fare beaters who cheat the system out of an estimated $800 million annually. With New York’s Progressive politicians unwilling to hold felons responsible under their cashless bail and defund the police policies, there’s little hope they’ll go after the turnstile jumpers and toll evaders.
In the Hudson Valley, where the payroll tax would also soak residents, Senator Rob Rolison lashed out against the idea. “ A return to the payroll tax is not a solution for the MTA’s ongoing budgetary struggles and only puts another burden on the backs of Hudson Valley residents and individuals in the entire MTA region.”
Known as the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation Mobility Tax, the fee is currently levied against certain employers and self-employed individuals operating within the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District. This district encompasses the five boroughs of New York City and the surrounding counties of Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, and Rockland.
Ironically, it was Murray’s predecessor in the 2nd District, Brian Foley, who cast the deciding vote for the payroll tax. He was part of a Democrat wave that took control of the upper house after 40 years of GOP control, subjecting Long Island to the wrath of the New York City politicians who have been milking the suburbs ever since. After Foley supported a saltwater fishing license, steep increases in motor vehicle fees, and other unpopular measures, the voters rejected his bid for a second term.
Senator Murray has set up an online “No MTA Tax Hike Petition” for those wanting to line up against the tax bly clicking right here