NY State Senate Bill 2017-S1730

Senate Bill S1730

2017-2018 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 Investigations And Government Operations 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

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 03, 2018	referred to investigations and government operations
Jan 10, 2017	referred to investigations and government operations

2017-S1730 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A1472
Current Committee:: Senate Investigations And Government Operations
Law Section:: Tax Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §606, Tax L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2013-2014: S6736
2015-2016: S1660, A7483
2019-2020: S1397, A3795
2021-2022: S3584
2023-2024: S1299

2017-S1730 (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.

2017-S1730 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S1730

 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 :

2015-16: S1660/A7483 - Finance/Ways and Means

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.

2017-S1730 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   1730
 
                        2017-2018 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 10, 2017
                                ___________
 
 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.

                                                            LBD01822-01-7

 S. 1730                             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.
   §  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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