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Contact: Bill O’Reilly, 914-619-5252

 Where Was Andy Spano?

 

WESTCHESTER HOSPITALS, BUSINESSES, PRIVATE & PAROCHIAL SCHOOLS, TAXPAYERS HIT HARD BY NEW MTA PAYROLL TAX

White Plains, NY-May 6...Westchester hospitals, businesses, private and parochial school parents and job holders got socked hard by the new "Mobility Tax" passed yesterday in Albany, and County Executive Andy Spano did virtually nothing to oppose it, County Executive candidate Rob Astorino today charged. 

The payroll tax, which will cost Westchester taxpayers and entities millions of dollars each year, had been debated for months-yet the County Executive waited until the very day it passed to speak out about it-in a press release issued just hours before the tax went through.  Mr. Spano claimed he opposed the tax all along, but did nothing of substance to stop it.

The payroll tax will hit Westchester hospitals particularly hard, and those costs will be passed down to patients and other taxpayers, Mr. Astorino said.  And now that the new tax has been established, there is the potential of it going up year after year, he warned.

"Now that this tax is on the books, watch out," Mr. Astorino said. "State and county government continue to hike spending-even in this economy-and more and more costs are being pushed onto taxpayers.  Westchester families already pay the highest taxes in America; we can't take any more of this."  

Here is a breakdown of hospital costs alone, obtained by the Astorino for County Executive campaign, that will be incurred by Westchester families:  

 

Hospital                                                        Extra Payroll Tax Cost

Westchester Medical Center                     $807,417
Northern Westchester Medical Center   $201,210
Blythedale Children's Hospital                 $72,527
Burke Rehabilitation Hospital                 $104,510
Community Hospital at Dobbs Ferry      $28,023
Hudson Valley Hospital Center                $137,190
Lawrence Hospital                                       $191,520
Mount Vernon Hospital                              $150,413
Sound Shore Medical Center                    $252,390
Phelps Memorial                                          $222,590
Riverside                                                         $273,123
St. Joseph's Medical Center                       $205,977
Saint Vincent's                                              $795,463

 

"It is the duty of the Westchester County Executive to look out for the people of this county," Mr. Astorino said. "But once again Westchester families get socked hard because no one was fighting for them. Mr. Spano should have been in Albany defending this county. Instead he issues a press release after the tax was a done-deal. His handling of this has been extremely disappointing to county taxpayers."  

Mr. Astorino is running for County Executive to "stop the tax madness; consolidate government services, and restore a high standard of ethics to county government."