COMMUTE-TAX KILLER SILVER WANTS IT BACKBy SALLY GOLDENBERG, NY Post
A tax on commuters who work in the city would raise $713 million this year alone and help stave off the anticipated toll hike on four East River bridges, a group of local officials say - and they've just added a powerful ally in their bid to reinstate it.
The movement to bring back the commuter tax already has the backing of Mayor Bloomberg. Now a new supporter has jumped on the bandwagon - Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan), who led the charge to kill it in 1999.
The most powerful opponent of reinstating the tax is Silver's fellow Democrat, Gov. Paterson.
But others in opposition include Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos (R-Nassau County) and Minority Leader Malcolm Smith (D-Queens), whose political caucus is slated to take over in January.
Malcolm Smith is an ass.
Photo from NY Magazine
8 comments:
Great!
This is good news.
Great News!! Make people who live outside of NY pay their fair share of the transit system they use to get to their high paying jobs while they live in low tax states. I couldn't believe how many people from my company live in PA and commute to NY every damn day!!
maspeth mom says...
This is great news - a way to help fill the deficit. At my job, the field workers come from other states to work, mostly the Carolinas and Florida. Then when they get laid off the collect unemployment from NYS. Out of 7 people in the office only 2 live in the boro's.
Hey I got folks whizzing by my house next to the lie from LI 24 x 7. I want to travel 2 miles west on the same road it takes me 10 minutes - it's so congested all because of the 3 million folks needing to pass by my house and others in Queens to get to Manhattan. Pay up to do so - bring back the commuter tax - it's easy to do - but commitment on the part of Pols whom are more loyal to fellow Pols than whom they represent.
Commuter Tax? That's fine with me. As an upstate resident, I think we should not be required to subsidize the NYC Transit System. Pay your own way. If it requires a three or four dollar fare, so be it. We will pay for the usage, but why should we pay subsidies so city residents may continue to ride at artificially low fares at the expense of the rest of the state. Before you ask the rest of the state to pay for the “privilege” of working in your city, fork out some money for fares on East River bridges.
And by the way, your water comes from our watersheds, you should be paying more for that privilege as well.
Many residents of NY commute to jobs in New Jersey and Connecticut as well. Do you honestly think those states will not retaliate in some way.
NY City is part of NY State, and right now you are more dependent on state subsidies than ever before. This kind of tax will further hasten the movement of businesses to New Jersey and Connecticut resulting in more lost revenue. Begin to demand that tax abatements for large realestate holdings be rescinded which will result in hundreds of millions of dollars to flow into the city coffers. You are being unfairly taxed by your representatives, and until that changes shortfalls will continue.
Don't buy into this nonsense that somehow taxing commuters will solve the budget gap for New York City. The very middle class you claim to want to save will be hurt the most.
This Tax is wrong. There are plenty of people living in L.I., N.J. and upsate who come from Queens. They had to move because the homes here were too much. Taxing the cops, firefighters and teachers who work here is wrong. Not everyone is a Wall St. worker or scammer.
maspeth mom says
Read the papers - Wall Street is letting go thousands of people - Do you think all of them make over $100,000.00? Wall Street only pays its top tiered managers big money. The rest work real hard for their money. They start work at 8:30 and dont leave until 5:30 - thats the required day. If they stay later they dont get paid overtime.
Sorry Maspeth Mom that you lost your Wall St job. I do realize not everyone Make the big bucks, that's why this tax is wrong. There aren't many justified taxes .
Post a Comment