New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver are calling for a return of the commuter tax, which would require NYC workers who don’t live in the Big Apple to place a portion of their earnings in the city’s coffers. Here’s a look at how the numbers stack up:
1999
Year New York State’s legislators — including Sheldon Silver — voted to eliminate the commuter tax on nonresidential city workers
33
Years the tax had been in place prior to its repeal
.45
Percentage of their yearly income the tax had forced commuters to cough up
$360 million
Annual amount the city gained through the tax at the time of its repeal
$3.3 billion
Projected budget gap the city faces in the next fiscal year
75,500
Number of Valleyites who travel to work in Manhattan on Metro-North every day
11,500
Number of New Yorkers who travel to the Valley for work on Metro-Northevery day (and who would not be affected by a commuter tax)
1
Days after Governor David Paterson announced a new MTA-Google route-planning service (making it easier for Valleyites to travel to the city) that Silver announced he supports a commuter tax (making it less likely we would want to)
