Gov. Kathy Hochul is considering hiking a dreaded tax on businesses to prop up the flailing Metropolitan Transportation Authority in a scramble to fill a whopping $33-billion budget hole , sources said — but the governor’s so far keeping her plans secret.
Hochul’s budget director has admitted fees and taxes will be needed to feed the MTA’s massive capital spending and that remains the reality despite the Sunday launch of the governor’s new hated — but cash-generating — $9 congestion toll.
The Democrat is again considering increasing the payroll mobility tax, which she had floated last summer to boost revenue source when she delayed the rollout of the congestion toll just then immediately resurrected it after the 2024 elections.
New Yorkers may soon end up getting squeezed by both the toll and the same tax increase that was floated as an alternative to the toll mere months ago, insiders and critics said.