New MTA Taxes Take Effect Starting Sunday

New York, NY —

Two new taxes intended to help the MTA are going into effect this Sunday and Monday. WNYC's Matthew Schuerman has the details.

REPORTER: The taxes were devised last spring as the legislature looked for ways to bail out the ailing MTA. Starting Sunday, all cab and livery rides that begin within the city limits and end inside the MTA's 12 county service area will be charged an extra 50 cents. That'll push the initial fare advertised on the outside of a taxi's door up to $3. That surcharge should yield $86 million for the MTA next year. But the bulk of the MTA's aid, $1.5 billion annually, is coming from the 0.34 percent tax that the state is imposing on the payrolls of just about all employers in the 12-county area. Even nonprofits, self-employed people, and New York City government will be liable. Public school systems will be reimbursed. For WNYC, I'm Matthew Schuerman.