NYS Court Of Appeals Delivers Blow To Long Island's Self-Employed

by Long Island Attorney Paul A. Lauto, Esq.

The NYS Court of Appeals recently upheld the imposition of the MTA tax as it applies to, among others, self-employed individuals of Nassau and Suffolk Counties making over $50,000 per year.  This decision effectively adds insult to injury for the Long Island small business person and applies whether or not the mass transit system is being utilized.

Many can attest to the fact that running your own business on Long Island, is a very difficult task in today's economy.  The self-employment (SE) tax alone is a huge financial burden to the self employed, as it requires twice the payment for social security tax (12.4%) than that paid by regular employees (6.2%).  Combined with Medicare, the total SE tax comes to approximately 15.3%.  Now add the unjust MTA tax of .34% of net earnings on top and it stings like salt in a wound.  This especially rings true for the self-employed of Long Island who do not even use any of the services provided by the MTA.

Read the full post at www.liattorney.com/scales-of-justice.html.