The argument for a commuter tax is that it pays for public services, such as police, fire, and sanitation, received by and beneficial to people who work within the jurisdiction levying the commuter tax.
Arguments against such a tax are that it acts as an incentive for businesses to relocate outside of the jurisdiction, along with their residents.
[3][4][5] A commuter tax in New York City would have to have support from the State Legislature in order for reinstatement, and since the majority of state legislators represent people who do not live in New York City, the tax tends to be unpopular.
[7] In 2009, New York enacted the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation Mobility Tax, a 0.34% levy on payrolls and self-employment earnings in New York City and Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Rockland, Orange, Putnam, and Dutchess counties.
However, in the 1973 District of Columbia Home Rule Act, the U.S. Congress barred the city from enacting such a tax .