By JOSEPH KELLARD
Calling this non-resident income tax "repugnant" and "particularly unfair," Murray and Town Councilwoman Angie Cullen laid out the town's position on Bloomberg's renewed call for the commuter tax at a state legislative hearing on Feb. 3.
"As supervisor of America's largest township, I'm joined with my colleagues on the town board to make sure that New York City's budget is not balanced on the backs of Long Islanders," said Murray.
As a former state assemblywoman, Murray voted to repeal the commuter tax in 1999. The tax then was .45 percent and commuters paid about $225 dollars a year. But the mayor's new proposal would put the tax at 2.7 percent, a five-fold increase.
"Today, the average commuter who makes $50,000 will be paying $1,300 for this one tax alone," said Murray. "That's really an outrageous burden."
An estimated 280,000 Long Islanders commute to New York City daily versus 87,000 New York City residents commuting to Long Island, according to a 1990 ridership survey. Murray contended that Long Island residents already contribute greatly to the city's economy by eating at its restaurants, shopping in city stores and attending the theater and sporting events, and that two-thirds of the city budget does not benefit commuters, such as the school system and public housing.
"Our commuters shop in the city, we spend our money there and I don't think it should take [Long Island residents] to get the city out of its problems," said Cullen. "I don't believe in taxation without representation."
The mayor's proposal was "disingenuous at best," Murray argued, in light of the fact that he's proposed to cut the income tax rate for city residents.
"[The commuter tax] is an especially hard blow for Nassau County taxpayers and residents who pay on average $7,000 in property taxes, compared to a New York City resident, who pays property taxes in the amount of $1,900," said Murray.
When Bloomberg originally proposed to reinstate the commuter tax in November, town officials immediately began their strategy to oppose the tax. Councilmembers visited train stations to ask commuters to sign petitions opposing the tax, in addition to petition forms that were mailed to residents. To date, the town has received more than 12,500 signatures from families and residents, according to Murray.
"The message has certainly been loud and clear: residents are angry and they're not going to take it," said Murray, who forwarded the signed petitions to Gov. George Pataki, Assemb. Sheldon Silver and Sen. Joseph Bruno, all of whom support the tax. "I hope that the united voice of almost 13,000 residents will certainly convince our representatives that this is unjust and unwarranted."
The New York state Legislature has the final say on whether the commuter tax is passed. As of now, the tax is only a proposal and has not been introduced in either house.
