Senator James Skoufis (D-Orange County) and Nyack Mayor Joe Rand, the Democratic candidate for State Senate in the 38th District in Rockland County, announced that they will partner to eliminate the MTA sales tax on clothing for west-of-Hudson residents.
According to Skoufis, Orange and Rockland counties’ residents bear the burden of this 0.375% tax while New York City, which enjoys far more and better public transit, contributes nothing to the MTA from these same purchases. The state exempts clothing and footwear under $110 from its 4% sales tax. Counties can choose
to mirror this exemption locally; if they do, the MTA’s 0.375% surcharge is also waived. If a county maintains its local clothing tax, however, the MTA surcharge remains in place.
Because Orange and Rockland counties heavily rely on sales tax revenue from Woodbury Common, the Palisades Mall, and other major retailers, they have not enacted their local exemption. As a result, residents are forced to continue paying the MTA surcharge on clothing items. In contrast, residents of New York City, Putnam, and Dutchess counties are exempt from the MTA clothing tax.
“It is a slap in the face that our constituents, who have nearly non-existent train service, pay a clothing tax to the MTA while New York City residents — with access to the largest public transit system in the country- pay nothing,” said Skoufis. “This little-known discrepancy is emblematic of how Orange and Rockland counties are pillaged by the MTA. With Joe Rand as a partner in the Senate, we will work to keep this hard-earned money in our taxpayers’ pockets.”
“Rockland and Orange counties deserve to have robust transportation, especially when our residents pay into the MTA,” said Rand. “For too long Rockland County residents have been on the hook for services that they have not benefited from. Together with Senator Skoufis, we will put hard earned tax dollars back in the pockets of our constituents and ensure that if we fund the MTA, we receive a public transit system that serves all of Rockland County in return.”
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