Establishes a personal income tax credit for tolls paid by resident taxpayers during the course of commuting to and from their place of employment

BILL NUMBER:S1660

Title of bill

An act to amend the tax law, in relation to establishing a personal income tax credit for tolls paid by a taxpayer in the course of commuting to and from his or her place of employment

Purpose

To provide relief from high toll expenses by creating an income tax credit for individuals that must pay tolls as part of their daily commute.

Summary of provisions

Section 1. Amends section 606 of the tax law by adding a new subsection (ccc) creating a commuter toll credit, available to individuals who must pay a toll at least three times a week for forty-five weeks of the year while going to and from their place of employment. It applies to tolls paid for the use of public highways or bridges, including those paid to any public authority established under the laws of New York. The credit is capped at $250 for single filers or $500 for those filing jointly, if both persons are eligible for the credit.

Section 2. Effective date.

Justification

Every day, hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers have to pay tolls during their commute. Many of our commuters have to pay very high tolls, including drivers crossing the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, who pay the highest toll charged for crossing any bridge in the United States. Even with an EZ-pass account these drivers have to pay at least $6 a day to cross that bridge. Recently, there was an agreement to cut that to $5.50 for Staten Island residents, but if one commutes five times a week for 50 weeks, the cost of crossing that bridge remains $1,375 a year. Drivers crossing over many outer borough bridges or crossing bridges run by the Port Authority also pay very high tolls.

Outside of the New York City area, tens of thousands must travel across the New York State Thruway and use the Tappan Zee bridge, or any of the various toll bridges operated by the New York State Bridge Authority. Annual costs for tolls across the Tappan Zee exceed $720 a year for those who pay for EZ-pass commuter plans. Given these high costs, one way the State can provide relief for these drivers without cutting funding for our road and bridge network, or other transportation needs, is to provide direct and targeted tax relief for those individuals who have the highest toll expenses, which would be those who need to pay these tolls as part of their daily commute. For this reason, we want to create this tax credit, which would provide that targeted relief for thousands of New York drivers.

Legislative history

2014: S6736 - Investigations & Government Operations Committee

Fiscal implications

The estimated cost of this tax expenditure would be $150 million annually.

Effective date

This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to the taxable year in which it takes effect and taxable years commencing thereafter.