40°
NORTH SALEM, N.Y. North Salem Supervisor Warren Lucas reacted to a state Supreme Court justices ruling that the MTA payroll tax is unconstitutional by saying, The savings to the Town of North Salem for the MTA tax is about $11,000, and every little bit helps.
The MTA payroll tax, instituted in 2009, requires employers to pay a 34-cent tariff on every $100 they pay in employee salaries. Supreme Court Justice R. Bruce Cozzens in Nassau County ruled the levy unconstitutional partly because it is paid only by the 12 downstate counties served by the MTA. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has vowed to appeal the ruling.
Lucas added that a bigger problem for the Town of North Salem revolves around the New York state Prevailing Wage Law, which requires municipalities to pay union-scale wages and benefits to everyone working on public construction jobs, except for certain clerical positions.
That surely doesnt help the taxpayer, and it costs the town hundreds of thousands of dollars every year in the work we do for our citizens, Lucas said. That is what needs to change.
Click here to follow Daily Voice North Salem and receive free news updates.
