Mayor de Blasio is brushing off a plan to cut the credit-card “convenience” fees New Yorkers face when paying their city bills.
The City Council bill, which got a hearing in the government operations committee Monday, would place a $50 ceiling on online credit-card fees for payments on the city’s site, or 2 percent of the payment itself — whichever is less.
Credit-card fees associated with lease, permit and property-tax payments are now capped at 2.49 percent.
The de Blasio administration described the proposed city charter amendment as “a huge concern,” saying it would cost at least $2.8 million annually because “these fees are not revenue-generating for the city.”
“To get rid of these fees or lower them would be a direct hit to the city’s revenue,” City Hall lawyer Henry Berger warned in written testimony.
He noted that the fees are due to the credit-card processing costs. Paying bills with a check or money order can be done without a fee.
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