(Source: The Times of Trenton, December 20, 2011)
TRENTON, N.J. — As Congress keeps fighting over funding the federal government and extending a payroll tax cut, mass transit riders are about to lose an important tax benefit that helped make getting to work more affordable. A commuter who earns $50,000 per year and pays transit fares of $230 per month would pay an additional $432 per year in federal income taxes starting Jan 1.
According to the Times of Trenton, “Federal law allows commuters to pay up to $230 per month for parking using tax-free dollars deducted from their paychecks. Since 2009, mass transit riders also got the same $230 benefit, up from $120 previously allowed. A one-year extension was added to the original two-year parity that passed as part of stimulus legislation. But the $230 for mass transit will expire Dec. 31 if Congress doesn’t extend or make permanent the higher amount.”
Full story: Times of Trenton