Time, like money, is flexible when it comes to the way the state defines a “temporary” tax or fee.
As lawmakers debate extension of what was supposed to be a three-year-long millionaires tax, New Yorkers face paying a whole roster of other temporary taxes and fees.
Offered as temporary taxes for specific needs, the levies are renewed year after year, taking root and essentially becoming permanent.
In New York City, for example, wage earners are still paying an income tax surcharge put in place after 9/11, said Elizabeth Lynam, deputy research director at the Citizens Budget Commission.
“What is temporary one day is permanent on another day,” she said.
Another temporary-permanent tax is the surcharge on business taxes within the MTA commuter service area downstate….
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