Businesses look to reclaim MTA payroll tax
It may be several months before a state appeals court decides whether the controversial MTA payroll tax stays or goes, but business owners still have to act fast if they eventually want to get back all the money they've paid toward the tax, officials said. This is a train in the LIRR station in Huntington. (July 25, 2012) Credit: Newsday / Thomas A. Ferrara
Business owners have to act fast if they eventually want to get back all the money they've paid toward the controversial MTA payroll tax, even though it may be months before a state appeals court decides whether the levy stays or goes.
Last month, a State Supreme Court justice ruled in favor of Nassau County in a suit it filed looking to repeal the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Payroll Mobility Tax. Although the decision declared the 2009 tax unconstitutional, it remains in place as the state's highest court considers appeals from the MTA and the state.
But because there is a three-year statute of limitations in New York to file an amended tax return, employers have until Nov. 2 to formally stake their claim to get back the money they paid in the tax from March 2009 to September 2009.
New York State Department of Taxation and Finance spokesman Geoff Gloak said the state is developing "an easy process for taxpayers to file a protective claim for refund, which we expect to be available in early October, well before the first deadline."
Gloak said business owners should not file amended tax returns to get the refunds. But, not waiting for the state to come up with its plan, some accountants and payroll administrators are having their clients do just that.
Ralph Accardo, president of Accu Data Payroll of Hicksville, said he is prepared to file amended returns on behalf of about 600 New York businesses his company represents. Some of those clients would be due back as much as $20,000 just for the first six months that the tax was in effect.
Accardo said the refund process is the latest headache caused by the tax, which charges business 34 cents for every $100 of payroll. "It's been a real pain in the neck for people -- especially those that don't have any employees that use mass transit to get to work."
The tax was created as part of a $2.3 billion state bailout of the MTA as it faced a record deficit. In 2011, certain small businesses and private schools were exempted from paying the tax.
Robert Spielman, a partner in the Melville-based accounting firm Marcum Llp, said he expects many businesses won't bother to stake their claim for the money they could be owed, either because they're not aware of the process, or because they assume the court's ruling will be reversed and the tax will stay in place.
The MTA has said similar lawsuits filed by other municipalities challenging the constitutionality of the tax have been dismissed.
"It's not a huge deal to file an amended return," Spielman said. "But some people just don't want to go through the expense. They say it [the ruling] is never going to be upheld anyway."
