A state Supreme Court justice yesterday declared the Metropolitan Transportation Authority payroll tax unconstitutional, with the MTA saying it would appeal the decision.
Nassau County initially sued to overturn the payroll tax in 2010, with Westchester and Putnam counties later joining as plaintiffs.
The unpopular tax was enacted under Gov. David Paterson in 2009, requiring businesses in the 12-county MTA region to pay a 34-cent surcharge on every $100 of payroll.
The decision by Nassau County State Supreme Court Justice R. Bruce Cozzens Jr. comes eight months after the state Legislature voted to eliminate or reduce the payroll tax for school districts and most small businesses.
Cozzens ruled that in order for the payroll tax to be constitutional under the New York State Constitution, the Legislature would have had to pass it with either a “home rule” message or a message of necessity, with two-thirds of each chamber voting in favor – which was not the case.
Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino applauded the ruling.
“The MTA payroll tax is essentially an unfunded mandate from Albany,” Astorino said in a statement. “And now we”™ve won an important victory with the court”™s decision that this unfair burden on taxpayers was unconstitutional.”
