A New York City lawmaker proposes $3 tax for online deliveries, to save the cities public transport (MTA) and check Amazon’s power. As the MTA faces layoffs and cuts to subway and bus services, Robert Carroll, a state lawmaker, is reviving a proposal to raise money for MTA by charging a $3 fee for every parcel delivered.
“Now we’re in an existential crisis,” Robert Carroll told Gothamist. “This bill raises real revenue for the MTA, it’ll make our streets safer because there will be fewer trucks on the streets, it’ll make the air cleaner because it will reduce carbon emissions, and it will help our small businesses.” The bill would impose a $3 fee on all parcels delivered to New York City, except food and essential medical supplies, to be paid by the customer.
Before the pandemic, there were 1.5 million package deliveries in the city every day. Robert Carroll estimates that his bill would raise in excess of $1 billion a year for the MTA. This is more than the benefits of congestion pricing.
The response online quickly turned critical. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted about the proposal, saying “Maybe instead of taxing people who need baby formula and essential goods, we tax those who have profited billions from a global pandemic?”
Politicians? Never a dull (fact-free) moment…. poor people of New York!
Walther Ploos van Amstel.