Gov. Kathy Hochul’s latest scheme to raise the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation Mobility Tax—AKA the MTA Payroll
Tax—is yet another blow to New York’s businesses and working-class families.
The governor’s plan to increase the MTA Payroll Tax is just one more regressive maneuver by an out-of-touch Hochul Administration to prop up a dysfunctional and failing mass transit system on the backs of overburdened businesses.
It will stifle economic growth, stunt the recovery of regional corporations from the COVID pandemic, and increase the costs of goods and services for Long Islanders and everyone else who lives in the suburbs surrounding New York City.
The governor’s stunt increases the payroll tax rate on employers on Long Island, and in Westchester, Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, and Rockland Counties from 0.34% to 0.635%. It also hikes the tax rate on New York City companies with annual payrolls over $10 million from 0.6% to 0.895%.
The justification to fund the failing MTA—an agency plagued by chronic waste, fraud, and mismanagement, while lavishly spending other
tax revenues on services for illegal immigrants, pet projects, and unnecessary programs.
Let’s be clear: this is not the first time Albany has promised that higher taxes would “save” the MTA. The original payroll tax was introduced in 2009 with the same goal.
Fifteen years and billions of dollars later, the MTA is still hemorrhaging money, and New Yorkers are once again being told to foot the bill. How long are we going to let this broken cycle continue?
The proposed tax hike sends a dangerous message to the job creators who keep our economy moving. Businesses in New York City are already struggling to bounce back from the pandemic and the shift toward remote work. The last thing they need is a new financial burden that will make hiring more expensive and expansion less attractive.
This tax is especially unfair for companies outside the five boroughs, including those on Long Island and in the Hudson Valley. These regions receive subpar MTA service, yet they’re being asked to pay nearly double their current tax rate.
This kind of regional taxation without adequate representation or return is indefensible.
Even former U.S. Senator Alfonse D’Amato and United States Congressman Michael Lawler have warned that this move could drive companies—and jobs—out of New York entirely.
But the most galling part of this proposal is that it does nothing to address the root problem: the MTA’s utter lack of fiscal responsibility. Time and again, investigations have uncovered rampant overtime abuse and fraudulent behavior. In one notorious case, five
current and former MTA employees were charged for falsely claiming more than $1 million in overtime while barely showing up for work.
This isn’t an isolated incident—it’s part of a systemic culture of waste that has gone unchecked for years.
My office—the Nassau County Comptroller’s Office—recently conducted an investigation that revealed that Nassau taxpayers contribute $36 million annually to the MTA specifically for the maintenance of Long Island Rail Road stations, plus more than $100 million in taxes and fees.
Yet, when asked for transparency and documentation, the MTA has been unwilling or unable to properly account for how these funds are utilized to benefit our community. This is a glaring example of how the MTA continues to take from taxpayers without any measurable accountability, improvements, or results.
Now layer on top of that Hochul’s congestion pricing scheme—a $9 toll for vehicles entering Manhattan below 60th Street. This is a regressive policy that punishes working-class commuters who have no viable public transit options. It’s not just a tax on driving; it’s a tax on childcare, on shift work, on people who live in transit deserts.
U.S.. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy rightly called it a “warped” attack on the middle class, forcing less affluent citizens onto an unreliable and often unsafe transit system.
And safety is no small issue. As subway ridership increases under congestion pricing, so too do violent incidents underground and Nassau County residents are at risk.
Felony assaults in the subway rose 9% over the past year—and 55% compared to pre- pandemic 2019. These aren’t statistics; they’re real people, hurt in a system that’s supposed to serve them.
The MTA doesn’t need more of our money. It needs accountability, transparency, and reform. Before asking hardworking New Yorkers and struggling businesses for another dime, Gov. Hochul should demand an independent audit of the MTA and a comprehensive plan for eliminating fraud and improving conditions at Nassau County’s LIRR stations. Without such changes, this tax hike is nothing more than a bailout for a failing agency with no incentive to change.
This is not sustainable. It’s not fair. And it’s not the kind of leadership New Yorkers deserve. We need investment in efficiency, not another endless cash grab from Albany.
