Mayor To Propose Tax On Wealthy To Pay For Subway Fixes

NEW YORK, NY — Mayor Bill de Blasio will propose a new tax on the wealthiest New Yorkers to help pay for fixes to the city's beleaguered subway system and subsidize half-price rides for low-income riders, he told the New York Times.

De Blasio will announce the plan on Monday, the Times reported Sunday morning, the latest shot fired between him and Gov. Andrew Cuomo over whose responsibility it is to fix the subways. The proposal would need approval from the Republican-controlled state senate.

"Rather than sending the bill to working families and subway and bus riders already feeling the pressure of rising fares and bad service, we are asking the wealthiest in our city to chip in a little extra to help move our transit system into the 21st century," de Blasio said in a statement to the Times.

Watch: NYC Mayor Wants To Tax The Wealthy To Fund Subway Repairs

Click here to read the full story from the New York Times.

The tax, according to the Times, would increase the highest income tax rate from 3.9 to 4.4 percent on couples making more than $1 million per year and individuals making more than $500,000 annually, which the city estimates would affect 32,000 people.

The city also estimates it would generate $700 to $800 million more per year, $500 million of which would go toward the subway and bus fixes and about $250 million toward half-price MetroCards, the Times reports.

New MTA Chairman Joe Lhota, who was appointed by Cuomo, was quick to respond Sunday afternoon.

"After saying the MTA doesn't need money, we're glad the Mayor reversed himself," Lhota said in a statement blasted out shortly after the Times' story published.

"However we need short-term emergency financing now. The Mayor should partner with us and match the state funding now so we can turn the trains around. There's no question we need a long-term funding stream, but emergency train repairs can't wait on what the state legislature may or may not do next year."

Cuomo has demanded that the city pony up around $800 million for repairs, which the mayor has refused, saying the state has raided funds the city intended for the MTA and allocated them for other purposes.

Read more: 5 Things To Know Midway Through The ‘Summer Of Hell’

(Photo by Rob Bennett/Office of Mayor of New York/Getty Images)