The Bottom Line: Hidden fees reported from viewers
ALBANY -- Throughout the month of February, Dori Marlin has been exposing hidden taxes in New York State that you might not have realized you were paying. The Petroleum Business Tax, Driver Responsibility Assessment, Cell Phone 911 Surcharge, and Hospital Surcharge together collect more than $4.1 Billion a year for the state. Those are some of the hidden fees that Dori uncovered; but here are a couple more that viewers found upon seeing her reports. Register a boat in New York and you not only pay a registration fee, from $22.50 to $75 you also pay a Boat Safety Surcharge on top of that fee: Another $3.75 to $18.75 per boat, depending on the size. If that one doesn t seem bad, this one just might: A New York State Assessment on nursing home bills of 6.8%. For a total monthly bill of $8,990 that amounts to more than $610. We have this demand to spend, but we have to find creative ways to do it, says Kenneth Pokalsky with the Public Policy Institute of New York State, Inc. It s an easy way to avoid having to make tough decisions on how we allocate the resources we get for our general taxes. Is it up to the politicians here to make the change in this culture? Dori asked him. Lawmakers need to do a better job of prioritization, he answered. But also, if the taxpayer and consumer in New York doesn t want to pay the highest gas taxes in the nation, they ve got to say something about it. Dori asked, Do you think something could actually get done if enough people were to say something about all this? Absolutely, Pokalsky says, The reason we have a property tax cap is because people reacted to the ever-increasing burden of local property taxes. The Bottom Line? Something to keep in mind, as the ever-increasing burden of all these other hidden taxes continues piling up.