Spreading the MTA Pain More in Some Places than Others

New York, NY —

Today's the deadline for a new payroll tax that the region's employers will have to pay. It's the final piece of the rescue plan for the MTA that the state legislature approved in May. WNYC's Matthew Schuerman has more.

REPORTER: Richard Ravitch, who's now lieutenant governor, proposed the payroll tax last year as part of a wide-ranging package intended to spread out the pain among all beneficiaries of mass transit. But a WNYC analysis shows the final plan has shifted the burden.

Employers in the 12-county MTA service area are pitching in the most: an average of $238 for each of their workers annually. Those who commute to work by subway, bus or cab, will pay about $100 a year, thanks to the fare increases and the new 50-cent taxi surcharge. Car owners by contrast, must fork over just $27 a year more in higher fees.

A spokesman for state Senator Carl Kruger said the alternative was much more unfair: Ravitch's plan would've cost drivers more than $2,000 annually in new East River Bridge Tolls. For WNYC, I'm Matthew Schuerman.

For more information on who pays how much, go to our news blog.