奥尔巴尼市议会拟推「通勤税」 引两党批评
纽约州 Albany County 的州府奥尔巴尼（Albany）市议会9名议员联署一项决议，要求州议会立法允许该市对在城内工作、住在城外的数万名通勤者征收所得税。该决议于10月19日晚的市议会会议上提出。
决议主要发起人、市议员 Derek Johnson 表示，通勤者使用城市的道路、下水道与急救服务，通勤税可改善服务、减少对州拨款的依赖。但该设想须经州议会批准方能实行，两党地方与州议员均提出批评，形容其「灾难性」「疯狂」「脱离现实」。州参议员 Pat Fahy 表示：「现在谈通勤税时机大错特错，我们要的是街上人更多，不是吓跑他们。」
代表逾6.5万名会员的纽约州公共雇员联合会主席 Wayne Spence 10月19日发表声明反对，称通勤者已通过停车、餐饮、购物与娱乐为城市经济作出贡献。Bethlehem 镇镇长 David VanLuven 警告，此举会激励企业搬离奥尔巴尼；该镇3.5万居民中有6000多人在奥尔巴尼上班。
Albany Council Floats Commuter Tax, Drawing Bipartisan Criticism
In Albany, the state capital in Albany County, New York, nine members of the Common Council put forward a resolution asking the state legislature to pass a law allowing the city to tax the incomes of the tens of thousands of people who work in Albany but live elsewhere. The resolution was introduced at the council's meeting on the night of October 19.
Councilmember Derek Johnson, the resolution's primary sponsor, said commuters rely on city services such as roads, sewers and first responders, and that a commuter tax would improve services and make the city less dependent on state aid. The proposal faces steep odds in the state legislature, whose approval it would need, and local and state lawmakers on both sides of the aisle criticized it as "disastrous," "insane" and "out of touch." State Sen. Pat Fahy said: "It's just the absolute wrong time to talk about a commuter tax. We want more feet on the street. We don't want to add to any chilling effect."
Wayne Spence, president of the New York State Public Employees Federation, which represents more than 65,000 members, issued a statement on October 19 opposing the resolution, saying commuters already contribute to the city's economy through parking, meals, shopping and entertainment. Bethlehem Town Supervisor David VanLuven warned it would create incentives for businesses to leave Albany; more than 6,000 of Bethlehem's 35,000 residents work in the city.
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图片来源：图：奥尔巴尼市夜景（资料图）。照片：Wikimedia Commons（CC0）。Albany, New York at night (file photo). Photo: Wikimedia Commons (CC0).
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