By Chris McKenna

A bill sponsored by Rep. Nan Hayworth, R-Mount Kisco, would restore an enhanced tax break for mass-transit commuters that lapsed in December.

The Commuter Savings Act would allow bus and train riders to deduct up to $230 in travel expenses from their taxable income each month, just as they were able to do in 2010 and 2011. The maximum amount fell to $125 this year when an enhancement paid for with stimulus funding ran out.

The bill would give mass-transit users nearly the same tax break as drivers, who can deduct up to $240 in monthly parking costs from their taxable income. Transit advocates had long pushed to raise the deduction level for bus and train fares, arguing it would help reduce commuter traffic.

Hayworth and other metro-area House members had tried to restore funding for the enhanced transit credit in the transportation funding bill Congress has debated for months, but failed to get it in the $105 billion version that finally passed on Friday.

That same day, Hayworth introduced a standalone bill raising the monthly deduction to $230 through the end of 2014, starting retroactively at the beginning of 2012. Reps. Peter King of New York and Robert Dold of Illinois co-sponsored the proposal, which would cost an estimated $139 million and be paid for by diverting funds from the Affordable Care Act.

"This bill will give a break to more than 70,000 Hudson Valley neighbors who are helping us to reduce congestion on our roads and streets," Hayworth said in a press release announcing the legislation.

Her office says about 11,000 passengers use the 31 Metro-North Railroad stations in her district each day. New York's 19th Congressional District includes parts of Orange, Rockland, Westchester and Dutchess counties and all of Rockland.

The original article, published by the Times Herald-Record, can be found here.