BILL NUMBER: S1397

SPONSOR: CARLUCCI
 
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 commut-
ing 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. Driv-
ers 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 fund-
ing 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:

2017-18: S1730/A1472 - INVESTIGATIONS & GOV'T OPS/ways & means
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 annual-
ly.

 
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.