BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP JULY 14 - JULY 20, 2017 13
GOVERNOR ANDREW CUOMO SHOULD
BRING BACK THE COMMUTER TAX
You should know
that an article titled
“City Has to Pay Up
If It Wants Better
MTA Service, Cuomo
Says” written by Ben
Fractenberg in the
June 23, 2017 edition
of DNAInfo begins
with the following
sentence: “Governor
Andrew Cuomo said
the city should put its money where
its mouth is in funding the MTA to
help fi x the beleaguered subway
system.”
Instead of asking New York City
to pay more money into the MTA,
wouldn’t it be more responsible
for Governor Andrew Cuomo to
push for the reinstatement of the
commuter tax? Shouldn’t our beloved
governor at least pose this as
a possibility and open the subject
for hearings, studies and political
implications?
It is important for you to know
that back on May 27, 1999, former
New York State Governor George
E. Pataki signed a bill into law to
repeal the commuter tax.
That piece of legislation was
rushed through the Senate and Assembly
for a vote, with no hearings,
no debate and no studies on the tax
break for people who commute to
New York City, use our police, fi re,
sanitation, hospital, parks and other
municipal services when needed.
The commuter tax used to help
defray the cost of municipal
services that New
York City provides to
one and all, and when it
was taken away, it was
an additional fi nancial
burden placed on
everyone who lives
in the fi ve boroughs
of the city to pay for
those services.
In other words, people
who don’t live in New York City
and come here to work and shop,
expect us to host them so they can
take advantage of our municipal
services, which include our failing
subway system.
Now, with all of the problems
that the MTA faces, how could
Governor Andrew Cuomo say
that the citizens of New York City
should pay even more money for
these services?
Instead, if we reinstate the
Commuter Tax, people from Long
Island, Westchester and Upstate
New York who come to New York
and use our transportation system
can help to pull their fair share of
the burden.
I urge Governor Cuomo to lead
the way, and instead of asking New
York City residents to chip in and
pay more money, he should really
help the city by bringing back the
commuter tax.
State Senator Ruben Diaz represents
the 32nd Senate District in
the Bronx.
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