Governor’s cuts to MTA payroll tax do not go far enough

Statement from New York State Association of REALTORS® President Hank W. Fries
Albany – Feb. 10, 2010 – Gov. David A. Paterson’s proposed cuts to the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation Mobility Tax in his 21-day budget amendments are inadequate and New York’s 54,000 REALTORS® strongly oppose shifting the cost to workers and businesses from one part of the MTA region to another. Nothing short of a complete repeal of the tax makes any sense in these difficult economic times.

It is little more than a shell game to reduce the tax for a portion of the MTA service area and then nearly double it for all businesses, including independent contractors like REALTORS®, operating in New York City. Governor Paterson is missing a key opportunity to demand meaningful reforms that result in long-term MTA cost containment. Instead, he continues to rely upon the taxpayer to bail out the MTA, which is widely regarded as a thriftless.
New York’s REALTORS® continue to strongly oppose this tax and others that only serve to hamper the Empire State’s economic recovery and encourage poor business practices from public authorities.
Editor’s Note: The New York State Association of REALTORS® is a not-for-profit trade organization representing more than 54,000 of New York state’s real estate professionals. The term REALTOR® is a registered trademark, which identifies real estate professionals who subscribe to a strict code of ethics as members of the National Association of REALTORS®. These REALTORS® are also members of the New York State Association of REALTORS® as well as their local board or association of REALTORS®.


~Salvatore I. Prividera Jr.
Director of Communications and Marketing