The Legislature, which is expected to wrap up its annual legislative session on Friday, would have to approve the tax increase on city businesses, known as a payroll mobility tax.
It did not appear to have much support.
“To tell New Yorkers that you care about the cost of living and then to propose a raise on their taxes, to me, is incomprehensible. It does not make sense,” said Sen. Zellnor Myrie, a Democrat.
Avi Small, a spokesman for Hochul, declined Thursday to provide details on the governor’s proposed tax increase and instead referred a reporter to comments Hochul made a day earlier in a pre-recorded video announcing the indefinite pause of congestion pricing.
“We have set aside funding to backstop the MTA capital plan, and are currently exploring other funding sources,” Hochul said Wednesday, referring to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the entity that controls the subway, bus and commuter rail systems that serve the city.
Congestion pricing was signed into law by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2019 after years of advocacy from public transit advocates.
In her pre-recorded statement, the governor said she was blocking the plan because of its financial burden on residents dealing with inflation and high costs of living. She also cited the city’s fragile economic position as it continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Drivers entering Manhattan south of 60th Street would have had to pay tolls of around $15, depending on vehicle type, on top of tolls for entering the same area via certain bridges and tunnels.
Sen. Liz Krueger, a Democrat who chairs a legislative finance committee, noted that the proposed business tax would eventually be passed down to workers and said she does not think her chamber would support such a proposal.
“Remember, payroll mobility taxes are actually taxes on the workers. It’s not a corporate tax, it’s a tax on the workers,” said Kruger, adding “I believe the governor did misjudge this.”
The…
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