Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Dec. 12 signed into law changes that either reduce or eliminate what 290,000 small businesses and 414,000 self-employed workers pay in MTA payroll taxes.
The tax will be eliminated for 289,000 small businesses that have an annual payroll between $10,000 and $1.25 million and will be reduced by either one-third or two-thirds for an additional 6,000 businesses with payrolls between $1.25 million and $1.75 million.
All elementary and secondary schools ”“ public and private ”“ are also exempt.
In Westchester, the changes affect some 25,500 businesses.
Cuomo has said the cuts will cost $250 million and will be subsidized by the state, resulting in no changes for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority”™s budget.
Currently, the MTA payroll tax generates some $1.4 billion annually, which represents more than 10 percent of the authority”™s budget.
