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Budget-crunchers' turn to fee hikes hurting poor, some say By Michael Powell, Washington Post, 4/8/2003 NEW YORK -- Faced with the worst fiscal crisis in a generation, city and state officials across the nation are increasing hundreds of fees rather than raising taxes, a tactic that places a disproportionate burden on poor and working-class Americans. In New York, subway and bus fares will jump 33 percent in May, and state officials plan a 7 percent tuition increase for public colleges, a combined annual hit of nearly $2,000 for the average student. New Yorkers already pay twice as much this year to use public tennis courts and baseball fields. And they pay more to obtain marriage licenses or birth certificates, to pay off parking tickets and to make cellphone calls. In California, the governor has proposed numerous fees, including increasing the cost of car licenses and fees for college students. In Maine, the governor wants to charge more for hunting and fishing licenses, and for admission to museums and parks. In Massachusetts, Governor Mitt Romney has proposed charging $50 for tuberculosis tests -- and wants to charge a $400 fee when someone tests positive. Many analysts regard the income tax as the most progressive levy, their theory being those who make the most money can afford to pay the highest taxes. But most governors and legislatures shy from talking of such taxes, fearing a revolt in these tax-leery days. To date, only 14 state legislatures have discussed raising income taxes. In California, Governor Gray Davis, a Democrat, has proposed raising the income tax rate for the wealthiest voters, prompting criticism from Republican legislators. New York is more typical. Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a Republican, has increased fees by $139 million this year -- and proposed slashing the city income tax rate. ''There's a lot of resistance to broad-based taxes so politicians turn to fees,'' said Marcia Van Wagner, chief economist at the Citizens Budget Commission, a business-funded research group here. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington has charted the rising tide of fee increases. ''The fees have no relationship to ability to pay,'' said Nick Johnson, director of the center's State Fiscal Project. ''What may seem fairly innocuous to a middle- or upper-income family may be more burdensome to a family having difficulty making ends meet.'' That's the case in New York, which faces a $3.5 billion budget shortfall. For the city's 13,000 millionaires, a $100 tennis fee -- up from $50 last year -- and a subway fare increase are a nuisance cost. But for most city residents, whose median family income is $41,887, such increases represent a substantial slice in their disposable income. California faces the worst of all possible budget deficit worlds. Its deficit is so mountainous -- topping $30 billion -- that politicians have responded with a proposed income tax increase and dozens of fee increases. The governor has proposed a 25 percent student fee increase at state universities and two separate library user fees. State legislators have proposed fees on alcoholic beverages, bottled waters, and car washes. ''They are using fees as a surrogate for taxes to fund . . . general government operations,'' said Larry McCarthy, president of the California Taxpayers Association. ''It's a dangerous time.'' This story ran on page A9 of the Boston Globe on 4/8/2003. © Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper Company.