Tony Nunziato for NY State Assembly - Ten Years Ago COMMUTER TAX Was Repealed

Almost 10 years ago, on May 17, 1999, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver steamrolled the repeal of the commuter tax through the New York State Assembly. The tax, which was levied at the rate of 45/100 of one percent of the salary of people who did not live in the City of New York but worked here, had brought in over $300 million a year to the City of New York, a sum that would have increased substantially due to inflation and prosperity. The rationale for the tax was that commuters received police, fire, sanitation and other services while they were in the city, and should therefore pay a small share (about 10 percent) of what city residents pay in the city income tax.

The cumulative sum the city has lost due to this one legislative decision is now estimated at $4 billion, and increases by a larger sum each year. The legislature’s vote to repeal the tax moved the city budget further from the structural balance which mayors have sought to attain. In addition, the Legislature has passed numerous pension enhancements and other mandates that the state did not fund, leaving the financial responsibility to the city, which Albany deals with as a large piñata which may be punctured as well.

Assemblywoman Marge Markey voted in favor of eliminating the Commuter Tax. Residents of NYC have been paying for this decision ever since.

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