A new report is pushing back against Long Island lawmakers who don’t want to pay an increased MTA payroll tax. The Left-leaning Fiscal Policy Institute says Long Islanders use the MTA about the same amount as they will be taxed under a proposed payroll tax increase.
According to the report, the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North account for about 25% of the MTA’s operating costs. The report also finds that if Long Island lawmakers got their way and suburbs were excluded from a potential MTA payroll tax increase, there would be 25% less new money flowing into the transit system.
This just counts operating costs, not new MTA projects, according to the report authors.
“There's actually a higher proportion of capital spending that goes into the lines in the suburban regions, by our calculations about 41%,” Nathan Gusdorf, executive director of the Fiscal Policy Institute, said.
State senators from Long Island have asked Governor Kathy Hochul and legislative leaders to exclude the suburbs from the new tax increase. They claim New York City is the main beneficiary of the MTA.
