Oh, Mayor Bloomberg. We know you have national ambitions, but is offering this idea really the way into everyone's heart? This morning, our billionaire mayor said on his radio show, "If you want to raise taxes, don't pick one class of people and say, 'I think they have too much money' or 'I don't think they have enough money' or whatever. Raise everybody's taxes 1 or 2 percent or whatever." more ›

When you get a lap dance, do you ever catch yourself thinking, "gee whiz, this really is a fantastic dramatic and/or musical art performance"? Because according to a NY state appeals court, nobody thinks that way—the court has ruled that private lap dances are not artistic performances, and are therefore not tax exempt. Try telling that to Shakira, Rihanna, and (NSFW) Nomi Malone! more ›

Last fall, the state tax exemption for clothing and footwear under $110 ended (thanks to New York's horrible budget situation), meaning that New York City residents have been paying 4.375% sales tax—4% for the state, 0.375% for the commuter tax—on those items. Today, there's a little bit of relief, with the state tax exemption coming back, but only for clothing or footwear items under $55. more ›

How much for that bagel in the window? Well, that depends on how you're taking it. Apparently State tax officials have started enforcing an odd sales tax law; according to the Wall Street Journal, while the sale of a whole bagels aren't subject to sales tax, sliced bagels are! more ›

Perhaps in hopes of increasing the state's revenue a bit more, Bloomberg says Paterson needs to "cowboy up" when it comes to cigarette taxes, and fight Indian reservations who continue to sell smokes tax-free. Though one Indian chief previously said enforcement would be considered an act of war, Bloomberg ignored the threat (and political correctness) on his radio show, saying, “I said to David Paterson, I said, ‘You know, get yourself a cowboy hat and a shotgun. If there’s ever a great video it’s you standing in the middle of the New York State Thruway saying you know read my lips, the law of the land is this and we're going to enforce the law.'" The statement didn't sit too well with some tribes. more ›

If the hope of a clean and healthy planet wasn't enough to get New Yorkers to think twice about what they toss, perhaps a new fee on trash will get that universal will to repurpose inspired. Mayor Bloomberg said he is considering charging people for how much they throw away as a way to plug the budget gap. Naturally, there has been some Karl Marx-inspired backlash. One Flushing resident told WCBS, "I don't think he can relate to the working class people. We don't have that kind of money, especially now. It is very unfair to us." more ›

Lawmakers are planning to get rid of an 8.875% sales tax on livery cab rides...because they haven't been able to collect any money. Albany had expected to earn at least $30 million when they put the tax into effect last year, but could never force livery owners to pay up. So instead, they're just exempting those 20,000 vehicles, and law-abiding limo drivers are furious about the special treatment. Wayne Baden, lead lawyer for the Black Car Assistance Corp, told the Post, "We think liveries are scofflaws. This is government inaction." Is this how taxing works? Everybody stop paying property taxes, and let us know when lawmakers say they don't need the money anyway. more ›

Despite being furious over the state's new $1.60 tax on cigarettes—which will drive most packs to between $11 and $12 each—smokers say they're not going to let this keep them from enjoying their fix. Jimmy Dece, 19, told the Daily News, "I'll be miserable about buying them for $11, but at least I'll have a cigarette to deal with the problem." Wait, did he just paraphrase Homer Simpson? more ›

Instead of that staggering $1 tax on cigarettes Paterson proposed earlier in the year, the state may be seeing a whopping $1.60 tax per pack of smokes. The proposal is laced into an emergency budget bill to be voted for on Monday, and Paterson says it would bring in an extra $290 million to close the budget gap and keep Albany from shutting down. more ›

Even on Memorial Day weekend, Senator Chuck Schumer is busy. According to the Daily News, he introduced a bill yesterday "to tax companies 25 cents for every customer service call that's outsourced overseas." He said, "How many times do we hear of a company shutting down a facility in New York or elsewhere in the country and sending the jobs abroad? Almost daily... 1.6 billion calls are being transferred to call centers, often without the customer's knowledge." Plus, the bill would require companies to tell the callers their calls are being transferred overseas—and to indicate which countries the call are being sent to. more ›

In an attempt to close the budget gap, lawmakers are considering two new plans to raise fees on New Yorkers. The plan proposes raising the fees on buying cars and taking out a mortgage. "These two proposals are being seriously considered by us," Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Martin Dilan told the Daily News. more ›

Congressional Democrats hope a new tax on tanning will help them fund their health-care overhaul bill. The 10 percent “vanity tax” could take affect as soon as this summer and would apply to indoor and outdoor salons citywide, according to the News. A representative of the industry was enraged by the threatened price hike. "Tax policy shouldn't be made like this - it shouldn't be based on one industry's grudge against the other," said Indoor Tanning Association executive director John Overstreet. One tanner implied that with the sunny months coming, she might have to head outdoors (Gasp!). "It's already too expensive," said student Lia Pettineo, 22. "Once summer is here officially, I'll stop." Tanning opponents says the ultraviolet beds cause melanoma and call them “the cigarettes of our times.” more ›

It's tax time and the Finance Department wants big-time evaders to pay up. To that end, it's asked the IRS to hand over a list of rich city dwellers outed for keeping funds in Switzerland's UBS bank. Last year the offshore money repository was forced to give clients' names to the IRS and fined. So far it's unclear how many New Yorkers are enumerated on the list, but according to the Post many of the offenders are thought to live here. "Presumably, they haven't paid taxes for some period of time," said Finance Commissioner David Frankel more ›

Despite admonishment by an ethics committee for taking a corporate sponsored trip to the Caribbean, flouting House rules barring gifts worth more than $50, Congressman Charlie Rangel says he won’t resign from his powerful post on the House Ways and Means Committee. "Why don't you ask me if I'm going to stay chairman of the committee in light of the fact that we're expecting heavy snow in New York?" he quipped to reporters yesterday. Still, four fellow Dems called for him to step down and President Obama reprimanded him. According to White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs Obama stressed that "rules are put in place for a reason and that those rules can and must apply to each and every person." more ›

After a lengthy investigation, a House ethics panel ruled that Rep. Charlie Rangel violated congressional rules by traveling to the Caribbean on corporate junkets in 2007 and 2008. The Harlem Democrat said he had been "admonished" by the committee, which has not yet announced its findings regarding allegations of improper fundraising, tax evasion on property in the Dominican Republic, and his use of four rent-stabilized apartments in Manhattan despite House rules barring gifts worth more than $50. more ›

A deputy commissioner for the Health Department said yesterday that the DOH is considering a tax increase on alcohol, which could increase the price of a bottle of beer as much as ten cents. After hearing about the possibility, the Daily News rushed to interview barflies on Eighth Avenue, where the news was received calmly and rationally. "They tried that before, it is called temperance," declared Marc Jacobs (ha), on his way into the Molly Wee Pub. Another patron at The Blarney Stone, Phil Carroll, sarcastically asked, "That worked with cigarettes, right?" Well, Phil, it probably did: 300,000 fewer adult New Yorkers smoke than in 2002, which may have a little something to do with price hikes and indoor smoking bans. more ›

Possible Senate candidate and former Tennessee Congressman Harold Ford Jr. called his likely rival a "hypocrite" and a "tobacco apologist" in an open letter. According to the Post, the Merrill Lynch executive—who has come under fire for tax discrepancies and not disclosing if he received a "taxpayer-backed" bonus—demanded Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand release her tax records. "Why won't you release your tax returns from when you defended big tobacco companies?" more ›

In an attempt to navigate the state through a budget crunch at the end of the fiscal year, Gov. Paterson might delay $500 million in state tax returns. The state had set aside $1.75 billion to pay tax returns, but Paterson is hoping to use half a billion of that money to ease cash flow problems—meaning some taxpayers might receive their checks weeks or months late. more ›

Unless lawmakers can come up with new ways to fund the MTA, the transit agency might be forced to raise its base fare to $2.60 and increase the cost of unlimited monthly MetroCards to more than $100, according to a new study. The report reveals that even if the MTA implements far-reaching service cuts this year and ups fares by the planned 7.5 percent next year, it would still fall short of balancing its budget without additional funding. more ›

The owner of the Hampton Luxury Liner bus fleet has filed a lawsuit claiming an MTA tax is unconstitutional, because by shelling out, he's being forced to bolster the competition. "This is the first time that I ever had to pay a subsidy directly to my competitor," William Schoolman tells City Room. "That’s the thing that really bothers me." Sure, businesses including his have paid money to the authority for years, but a new payroll tariff has the 64-year-old transportation veteran red in the face. "Boy, it makes me angry to give extra money to the M.T.A," Schoolman gripes. more ›

While facing criticism for being a carpetbagger, former Tennessee congressman and likely Senate candidate Harold Ford swore he was an authentic New Yorker based on his taxes: "I pay taxes there, and once you pay taxes there, you feel like a New Yorker." But records show that Ford has never filed a tax return in New York state. more ›

Under Gov. Paterson's plan to rescue the MTA from a $400 million budget shortfall, New York City businesses would see a payroll tax increase by 59 percent, surging from .34 percent for every $100 of payroll to .54 percent. Meanwhile, the payroll tax in suburban areas would be cut in half. more ›

The newly appointed commissioner of the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications has saved $3,000 in taxes since 2005 by claiming residency in Florida—even though she has worked for city agencies the whole time. Longtime Bloomberg administration employee Carole Post and her husband have qualified for a homestead exemption, which is supposed to be granted to only full-time Florida residents, on their multimillion dollar West Palm Beach home, according to the Post. more ›

Even if the Metropolitan Transportation Authority implements far-reaching service cuts that would eliminate entire subway and bus lines and force students to pay to get to school, the agency will still face a $400 million budget gap. Revenue from a payroll tax has apparently come up short, again, the Daily News reports. The new revenue shortfall will make it harder for transit activists to convince the agency to not to implement the service cuts, and according to the tabloid, it raises the possibility that next year's planned fare hikes might be more than the planned increase of 7.5 percent. more ›

Gov. David Paterson unveiled a $134 billion proposed budget today that would impose new taxes on sugary drinks and cigarettes and cut school aid and health care spending by $1.1 billion and $1 billion, respectively. "The mistakes of the past — squandering surpluses, papering over deficits, relying on irresponsible fiscal gimmicks to finance unsustainable spending increases — have led us to a financial breaking point," Paterson said. "There are no more easy answers." more ›

Today JPMorgan Chase is reporting that last year it doubled its profits over 2008, earning $11.7 billion, and generated record revenue, hauling in $3.3 billion in the fourth quarter alone. It's also reporting that it's earmarking $26.9 billion to compensate its workers, much of which will now be paid out as bonuses. You're welcome, America! The news comes as a Wall Street Journal analysis found that major U.S. banks and securities firms are on pace to pay their top employees a record sum, about $145 billion for 2009, nearly 18% more than they did in 2008—and slightly more than in the record year of 2007. But mean old President Obama wants to take that hard schemed earned money away, and that makes Bloomberg scared! more ›

In addition to the Bicycle Access to Buildings Law, which requires commercial building owners to allow tenants to bring bicycles to their offices, another bike law went into effect recently: The Bicycle Access to Garages Law. It requires some commercial garages and parking lots to provide spaces for bikes at a specific ratio relative to their number of car spaces. But prices for the new bike parking have been left up to the market, and Streetsblog notices that at least one garage is taking cyclists for the proverbial ride. more ›

NYC has the second highest cell phone tax rate in America, according to a study released by Representative Anthony Weiner, the Vice Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet. His report shows that New Yorkers pay ten cell phone taxes and fees—more than any other major city in the country. And the tax rate is 16.20%, second only to Chicago, which clocks in at 19.02%. more ›

It's getting increasingly difficult to hide from the tax man in New York State, thanks to improved automation, more efficient use of third-party data and tougher disclosure laws. Tax revenue obtained through "enforcement actions" has increased 40 percent during the past six months, bringing in an extra $185 million, and crushing some small businesses along the way. In fact, the Empire State is getting so good at shaking down taxpayers that one analyst tells the Times other states "envy" New York! more ›

The High Line is now the most expensive oasis in the city. The NY Post reports that the park is expected to get $522,388 to $671,641 per acre for yearly maintenance and operations. Bryant Park used to be the priciest piece of land, spending around $479,166 per acre—and on average, city parks get $9,555 an acre. But even after getting $1 million of city (taxpayer) funds annually, the big news here is that the operators are definitely pushing through a "controversial new tax on neighborhood property owners so the managers can spend even more." more ›