Blame Utah!
Rail and bus commuters will see a tax break slashed Jan. 1 after a senator from the car-friendly Beehive State crossed them up Friday by nixing Sen. Chuck Schumer’s efforts to extend a tax break next year.
Straphangers will now only be able to shield $130 of their income every month from taxes to subsidize their train and bus fares — a steep plunge from the $245 they can currently keep tax-free.
But drivers won’t have to pay taxes on $250 of their income next year, a $5 increase after inflation — so that Uncle Sam can cover their parking costs.
After the Senate failed Thursday to pass a larger package of tax benefits that include tax relief for commuters, Schumer tried to extend it alone through a move that can have a bill quickly passed if all Senators agree to it.
Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch quickly objected and kicked it down to next year so that the financial committee could address all of the tax benefits together.
Schumer argued that riders would start feeling the pinch Jan. 1 — and it’s hard to give them back their benefits retroactively. “To have this benefit expire is a bad thing,” he said. “It’s only fair to make them equal.”
A rider who commutes from White Plains to New York City and has a 30 percent tax rate will now see their monthly ticket jump from $175.50 a month to $211.50 — a hike of more than 20 percent.