Senator Murphy's Bill will put an end to the onerous MTA Payroll Tax for local towns & counties

Albany, NY - Having Westchester, Putnam and Dutchess County pay for the expenses of New York City is akin to having the colonists in America pay for the King's castle in England. In looking out for the economic interests of the more than 300,000 people in the 40th Senate District, Senator Terrence Murphy has sponsored S4245, legislation which would exempt all counties, cities, towns and villages outside of New York City from paying the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation Mobility Tax (MCTMT) payroll tax.
 
The MCTMT was enacted in 2009 by then Governor David Paterson to provide funds for transportation, taxing income earned from wages and self-employment in 12 downstate counties in the state of New York. The tax was subsequently rolled back in 2011 for 78.2% of the entities in the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District (MCTD) service area that were required to pay the tax, including Westchester, Putnam, and Dutchess Counties.
 
"Taxing existing jobs has proven to have had a crippling effect on the economy and new job creation," said Senator Murphy. "This tax is having a severe negative impact on economic recovery, and is discouraging growth of new business and job creation at a time when the government should be promoting these objectives. It should be repealed for all local government entities in the MCTD's service area."
 
Peter DeLucia, Councilman for the Town of Lewisboro said, "Anything we can do to ease the burden on our taxpayers is important. Senator Murphy's proposed legislation will have a positive effect on economic growth across the region and provide real tax relief for Lewisboro residents."
 
"The MTA Payroll Tax has been a major mandate and burden that was put on the backs of business owners in Westchester County," said John Ravitz, Executive Vice President/COO for the Business Council of Westchester. "As we look to both recruit and retain businesses that create jobs and revenue for the county, all of us must be laser focused on urging Albany to repeal those taxes and mandates that clearly send the wrong message to the business community. The Business Council of Westchester applauds Senator Murphy's ongoing effort to tackle this issue."