NY State Senate Bill 2015-S1660

Senate Bill S1660

2015-2016 Legislative Session

Establishes a personal income tax credit for tolls paid by resident taxpayers during the course of commuting to and from their place of employment

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Finance Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

View Actions

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jun 02, 2016	reported and committed to finance
Jan 06, 2016	referred to investigations and government operations
Jan 13, 2015	referred to investigations and government operations

Votes

- Jun 2, 2016 - Investigations And Government Operations Committee Vote
  S1660
  
  7
  
  Aye
  
  0
  
  Nay
  
  1
  
  Aye with Reservations
  
  0
  
  Absent
  
  1
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  - - Investigations And Government Operations Committee Vote: Jun 2, 2016
      
      aye (7)
      
      Carlucci
      
      Golden
      
      Hoylman-Sigal
      
      Lanza
      
      Murphy
      
      Nozzolio
      
      Squadron
      
      aye wr (1)
      
      O'Mara
      
      excused (1)
      
      Diaz

2015-S1660 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A7483
Current Committee:: Senate Finance
Law Section:: Tax Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §606, Tax L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2013-2014: S6736
2017-2018: S1730, A1472
2019-2020: S1397, A3795
2021-2022: S3584
2023-2024: S1299

2015-S1660 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Establishes a personal income tax credit for tolls paid by resident taxpayers during the course of commuting to and from their place of employment.

2015-S1660 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                BILL NUMBER:S1660

TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the tax law, in relation to
establishing a personal income tax credit for tolls paid by a taxpayer
in the course of commuting to and from his or her place of employment

PURPOSE:  To provide relief from high toll expenses by creating an
income tax credit for individuals that must pay tolls as part of their
daily commute.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1. Amends section 606 of the tax law by adding a new
subsection (ccc) creating a commuter toll credit, available to
individuals who must pay a toll at least three times a week for
forty-five weeks of the year while going to and from their place of
employment. It applies to tolls paid for the use of public highways or
bridges, including those paid to any public authority established
under the laws of New York. The credit is capped at $250 for single
filers or $500 for those filing jointly, if both persons are eligible
for the credit.

Section 2. Effective date.

JUSTIFICATION:  Every day, hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers have
to pay tolls during their commute. Many of our commuters have to pay

very high tolls, including drivers crossing the Verrazano-Narrows
Bridge, who pay the highest toll charged for crossing any bridge in
the United States. Even with an EZ-pass account these drivers have to
pay at least $6 a day to cross that bridge. Recently, there was an
agreement to cut that to $5.50 for Staten Island residents, but if one
commutes five times a week for 50 weeks, the cost of crossing that
bridge remains $1,375 a year. Drivers crossing over many outer borough
bridges or crossing bridges run by the Port Authority also pay very
high tolls.

Outside of the New York City area, tens of thousands must travel
across the New York State Thruway and use the Tappan Zee bridge, or
any of the various toll bridges operated by the New York State Bridge
Authority. Annual costs for tolls across the Tappan Zee exceed $720 a
year for those who pay for EZ-pass commuter plans. Given these high
costs, one way the State can provide relief for these drivers without
cutting funding for our road and bridge network, or other
transportation needs, is to provide direct and targeted tax relief for
those individuals who have the highest toll expenses, which would be
those who need to pay these tolls as part of their daily commute. For
this reason, we want to create this tax credit, which would provide
that targeted relief for thousands of New York drivers.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:  2014: S6736 - Investigations & Government
Operations Committee

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:  The estimated cost of this tax expenditure would
be $150 million annually.


EFFECTIVE DATE:  This act shall take effect immediately and shall
apply to the taxable year in which it takes effect and taxable years
commencing thereafter.

2015-S1660 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  1660

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                            January 13, 2015
                               ___________

Introduced  by Sen. CARLUCCI -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
  printed to be committed to the Committee on Investigations and Govern-
  ment Operations

AN ACT to amend the tax law, in  relation  to  establishing  a  personal
  income  tax  credit  for  tolls  paid  by  a taxpayer in the course of
  commuting to and from his or her place of employment

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1.  Section  606  of  the  tax law is amended by adding a new
subsection (ccc) to read as follows:
  (CCC) COMMUTER TOLLS CREDIT. (1) GENERAL.  EACH  INDIVIDUAL  QUALIFIED
TAXPAYER  SHALL  BE  ALLOWED  A  CREDIT  NOT TO EXCEED TWO HUNDRED FIFTY
DOLLARS DURING ANY TAXABLE YEAR, TO BE  COMPUTED  AS  PROVIDED  IN  THIS
SUBSECTION,  AGAINST THE TAX IMPOSED BY THIS ARTICLE FOR QUALIFIED TOLLS
PAID DURING SUCH TAXABLE YEAR.
  (2) DEFINITIONS. (A) THE TERM "QUALIFIED TAXPAYER"  MEANS  A  RESIDENT
TAXPAYER WHO COMMUTES TO AND FROM HIS OR HER PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT AND WHO
DURING  THE  COURSE OF SUCH COMMUTING PAYS QUALIFIED TOLLS NOT LESS THAN
THREE TIMES EACH WEEK FOR NOT LESS  THAN  FORTY-FIVE  WEEKS  DURING  THE
TAXABLE YEAR.
  (B) THE TERM "QUALIFIED TOLLS" MEANS TOLLS AND FEES IMPOSED FOR USE OF
A  PUBLIC  HIGHWAY OR BRIDGE WITHIN THE STATE, OR TOLLS AND FEES IMPOSED
BY A PUBLIC AUTHORITY, ESTABLISHED BY THE LAWS OF THIS  STATE,  FOR  THE
USE  OF  A  PUBLIC  HIGHWAY  OR BRIDGE; AND SUCH TOLLS OR FEES WERE PAID
WHILE A QUALIFIED TAXPAYER WAS IN THE COURSE OF COMMUTING  TO  AND  FROM
HIS OR HER PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT.
  (3)  AMOUNT  OF  CREDIT.  THE  AMOUNT  OF  THE CREDIT PURSUANT TO THIS
SUBSECTION SHALL BE THE FIRST TWO HUNDRED  FIFTY  DOLLARS  OF  QUALIFIED
TOLLS  PAID BY AN INDIVIDUAL QUALIFIED TAXPAYER DURING THE TAXABLE YEAR,
EXCEPT IN THE CASE WHERE  TWO  QUALIFIED  TAXPAYERS  FILE  JOINTLY,  THE
AMOUNT  OF  SUCH  CREDIT  SHALL BE THE FIRST FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS OF THE

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD03417-01-5

S. 1660                             2

QUALIFIED TOLLS PAID BY SUCH QUALIFIED TAXPAYERS DURING THE TAXABLE YEAR
AS COMPUTED BY ADDING THE TAX CREDITS EACH WOULD BE ALLOWED PURSUANT  TO
THIS SUBSECTION IF THEY EACH FILED INDIVIDUALLY.
  S  2.  This  act  shall take effect immediately and shall apply to the
taxable year in which it takes effect and taxable years commencing ther-
eafter.

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