New Yorkers to face new taxes as MTA confronts $33 billion shortfall, even with congestion pricing
NEW YORK - New York lawmakers returned to Albany Wednesday faced with the daunting task of finding more cash for the MTA. New taxes and fees are needed to fill a $33 billion budget shortfall, and it's not coming from congestion pricing.
Billions in new taxes are needed to fill the gigantic hole in the MTA's budget. Without a new source of revenue, the system can't be fixed.
Lawmakers say it's not a question of if there will be new taxes, but what the taxes are, and who pays them.
"Well, math is math. And so either we're going to find new sources of revenue to fill this hole, or the hole will not be filled. So that's the choice we face. Either take important projects that help the city thrive off the table, or find ways to pay for them. And I'm in favor of finding ways to pay for them," State Senator Michael Gianaris said.
"Everything has to be on the table," State Senator Brad Hoylman-Segal said.
"Another tax proposed on the heels of the new congestion charge"
In finding a new revenue stream, lawmakers are mindful of the fact that many in the metropolitan region are still reeling from the start of congestion pricing, having to pay $9 to enter the Central Business District below 60th Street.
"Yeah, it's not good PR to have another tax proposed on the heels of the new congestion charge, but it's reality," Hoylman-Segal said.
Although it's early in the negotiations, a number of ideas are floating around, including a millionaire's tax, or an increase in the mobility tax on employers. The mobility tax was last raised in 2022.
So why doesn't the legislature just take money from its general fund to fill the MTA gap? Gianaris said it might be possible to take $1-2 billion from the general fund, but to fill a gap of $33 billion will require a new revenue stream. That means taxes and fees.
"It has to be broad based and fair"
Kathryn Wylde of the the Partnership for New York City says businesses in the Big Apple shouldn't be the only ones to bear the burden.
"I think we're going to have to be creative about the financing sources. Everything's got to be on the table, but again, it has to be broad based and fair, and the entire state should share in this responsibility. It shouldn't just be on New York City and its suburbs," Wylde said.
Richie Romero, owner of the Chelsea speakeasy restaurant Sushi By Bou, isn't a fan of congestion pricing and feels the same about the possibility of an increase in the payroll mobility tax on businesses.
"As business owners, we can't afford it. That's the problem," he said. "As a business person, I don't know how much more they want us to survive. It's too expensive to live here as a resident, and as a business, to run the business, the profit margins are nothing."
For now, Sushi By Bou is giving customers $9 off their tab to make up for the congestion charge.
"Let's not put it on the customers. We want people to come out. We don't want people to be like, do I really wanna go out? Do I really wanna come to the city? If I live on 74th Street, do I really wanna go down in the zone?" Romero said.
The new state budget is due by April 1, and the new tax package will have to be part of it.
