| Date: | July 18, 2017 |
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The Partnership for the Public Good saw another policy win this month! Spearheaded by the Citizens for Regional Transit, PPG's 2015 Community Agenda included a plank requesting that NYS protect the mortgage recording tax and the revenue that it generated for public transit. PPG is thrilled to announce that state legislation was recently passed to do just that. This translates into about $370,000 in additional funding for the NFTA each year!
Before July 1, Industrial Development Agencies (IDAs) could give out full tax exemptions on the mortgage recording tax for new development projects. Part of the revenue from this tax is dedicated to public transit, so the NFTA was frequently missing out on much-needed funding. From 2012 to 2015 alone, the NFTA lost out on about $1.5 million. As of July 1, however, IDAs will no longer be able to hand out full exemptions on this tax. This comes as the result of both CRT’s work and strong dedication from Assemblyman Sean Ryan, who sponsored the bill.
See PPG’s full 2015 Community Agenda.
See PPG’s recently-released report on the public transit challenges Buffalo still faces.