Members of the Albany Common Council are floating a "commuter tax" on people who work in New York's capital city but live elsewhere.
A resolution put forward by nine council members asks the state legislature to pass a law allowing the city to tax the incomes of Albany's tens of thousands of non-resident workers. The resolution is being introduced at the council's meeting Monday night.
Council members in favor of a commuter tax said workers rely on city services, like roads, sewers and first responders.
Councilmember Derek Johnson, the resolution's primary sponsor, said a commuter tax would improve services and make the city less dependent on state aid.
"It's hard to see it in the beginning," Johnson said. "You know, all you see is money coming out of your check, but hopefully the roads would improve, the schools would improve, many things would improve that haven't had the chance to improve as needed over the years."
The novel tax proposal, however, faces steep odds in the state legislature, which would have to approve the change. Local and state lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have criticized the proposal, calling it "disastrous," "insane" and "out of touch."
"I can understand the concept behind it, but what you're really looking at with it is creating incentives for businesses to leave the City of Albany," Bethlehem Town Supervisor David VanLuven said. "And that's not something any of us want to see."
More than 6,000 of Bethlehem's 35,000 residents work in the City of Albany.
Albany resident and state Sen. Pat Fahy — whose support would be crucial for getting a commuter tax passed — told WAMC the proposal risked stunting Albany's economic development.
"It's just the absolute wrong time to talk about a commuter tax," Fahy said. "We want more feet on the street. We don't want to add to any chilling effect."
Albany Mayor Dorcey Applyrs also came out against the commuter tax Monday afternoon. She said in a statement that it was a good conversation starter but ultimately "does not have the necessary support at the state level to move forward at this time."
"While a commuter tax is not a viable solution to our budget challenges, the discussion raises important questions that deserve our attention," Applyrs said in a statement. "The Capital City cannot thrive without shared responsibility and financial support from those who rely on our resources and services."
The resolution does not spell out what the earnings tax rate would be, nor whether hybrid employees would count as "commuters."
In 2005, the Albany Common Council passed a similar resolution calling for a 0.33% income tax on commuters. The proposal was ultimately unsuccessful.
