Massachusetts' Uber-to-Taxis Tax Makes National Headlines

A newly minted Massachusetts law is stirring debate anew, after a story out last week underscored a little-discussed portion: a tax on tech-driven transport companies that subsidizes the competing taxi industry.

Reuters pieced apart the finer points of the law, which imposes new safety regulations and fees on mobile ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft. While we've written quite a bit about the safety concerns some still see in the new legislation, this piece drilled down on different questions regarding competitiveness and fairness.

A quick primer: The new law imposes 20 cents' worth of fees on Uber, Lyft, Fasten, and any other app-driven ride-hailing company of their kind. That breaks down to 10 cents for local municipalities, five cents for the state's transportation fund, and a final five cents for taxis. Specifically, that final nickel is supposed to go toward “new technologies and advanced service, safety and operational capabilities” and to support workforce development in the taxi industry.

It's possible this slipped under local folks' radars a bit, given the legislation passed abruptly, and at roughly midnight. Over the weekend, the Reuters story hit Reddit and the responses are exactly what you'd expect:

"Why delay the inevitable and prop up a dying industry?"

"I wish I was rewarded for being inferior at stuff."

"Also a tax on Starbucks purchases. Gives the money to Dunks."

That last comment, of course, spawned its own thread of debate over coffee quality.

If you'd like to weigh in on the tax (or even on Sbux vs Dunks), let us know in the comments section or by emailing alison.bauter@patch.com

You can read the full Reuters story here.

>> Photo by Cory Doctorow, Flickr/Creative Commons