Andrew Hevesi/Marcia Bystryn op-ed From the Daily News:State Supreme Court Justice Bruce Cozzens’ recent ruling that the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation Mobility Tax was unconstitutional is a dangerous decision that cannot be allowed to stand.
This tax — sometimes known as the payroll tax — was enacted by the Legislature in 2009 for the 12 counties in the Metropolitan Transportation Authority region to close a $1.8 billion dollar operating budget shortfall. We are pleased that Gov. Cuomo and the MTA have decided to appeal this decision, and by doing so have shown that they understand the gravity of this potential loss for all New Yorkers. Their efforts, which we fully support, must be successful.
While we understand that this particular tax is imposed on small and large businesses in the midst of an extremely difficult economic cycle and can appreciate why there are some who were glad to see the judge’s ruling, the unfortunate reality is that the potential loss of this revenue stream will lead our system into massive disrepair and significantly decrease service.
There are only three potential outcomes if the payroll tax is eliminated: Steep fare hikes, deep service cuts with dirtier trains and less maintenance and the elimination of desperately needed upgrades that are in the MTA’s current capital construction plan. None of these scenarios are acceptable.
Maybe instead, Andy and his pals in Albany should stop looting the MTA's funding for tweeding projects.
7 comments:
our taxes would be less if we did not have to pay for your father's room and board and healthcare and thee pensions ,while he is in prison for robbing the citizens of NY.
New York collected on average $1,796 per person in state income taxes in 2010, more than any other state in the nation. So Mr. Hevesi, you think the highest taxed state in the nation should further tax its citizens?
Also more people left New York State in the past 10 years than any State in the country. Get the picture Andy?
They are replaced by people who pay little or no taxes because they are either illegal immigrants or operate in the "cash only" economy.
So keep taxing New Yorkers Andrew Hevesi, and when we kick your skinny ass out of office good luck finding a job in the shrinking private sector.
wow, maybe some of you will grow a backbone and insist that taxes go for you instead of development.
The MTA should take a look at reducing Operations costs. Current system setup is 30-70yrs outdated. They have 2 persons operating subway trains while many Metro systems have been running with OPTO or ATO for a generation or more. Commuter rail has similar problems. Good examples of this are the Vancouver Skytrain and German S-Bahn systems. The current setup limits offpeak service.
Funny how the MTA uses money..I have to drive many places-places theat require driving over a TBTA bridge. Ever wonder how much of the tolls actually go to fixing the bridge? Try about 7 percent. The rest funds a transit system the I mostly cannot use (I'm a paraplegic) due to either inaccessibility or, in the case of the buses, drivers refusing to use the w/c lift (sometime they simply don't stop!)
The outlier places like Long Island and Westchester riders & similar far off places will need to pay much higher fares - period. The MTA need to get smarter as to it's operations especially employee hiring starting pay and it's contracts where the savings could come from. If individual fares go up to 2.50 - so be it - it's a bargain - but those that don't use the system should not be taxed at all. The bridge and tunnel fares are a farce and expensive, but if they too need to be raised again - those individual and commercial vehicles should bear the brunt of the costs.
Your daddy is a crook!
Why trust the apple that doesn't fall far
from the Hevesi tree?
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