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It's Fun Time With the Independent Budget Office!
By
Jen Chung
Published Feb 17, 2005
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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By
Jen Chung
Published Feb 17, 2005
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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Oh, Independent Budget Office, Gothamist looks forward to your suggestions every year. On Tuesday, the IBO, a City Hall watchdog group, has announced various measures raise money for the city. These ideas are both unhinged and totally sensible. Some of the ideas, per Newsday , the NY Times and the report itself:
- Charging fees for plastic surgery - Charge every household for garbage collection depending on the volume of trash they produce - Increase tolls on East and Harlem Rivers bridges to $8 - Taxing dry cleaning and shoeshining - Ending Madison Square Garden's tax exemption - Making teachers work one more day, but with a raise - Making city class sizes bigger by two students - Charging a $1 video rental fee at libraries (it's now free) - Adding a restaurant tax - Taxing things like refurbishing floors and other home improvements - Charging a fare on the Staten Island Ferry
Read the report (PDF) for chuckles as well as "Hmm, why isn't the city doing ___" musings. The IBO outlines the pros and cons of each. What Gothamist finds interesting is that many ideas have merit, but if any one of them were proposed and passed, at least 40% of the city would seriously freak out. We can understand why a ferry fare might be good, but on a purely emotional level, there's something wonderful about taking the Staten Island Ferry for free - like it's a gift for us to see the city's skyline so magnificiently.
What do you think of these ideas? Last year, the IBO suggested a latte tax.
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Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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