Save grocers, kill tax: beep

SUPERMARKETS ARE trying to shelve a city tax that can cost them tens of thousands of dollars a year on top of their rent bills.

Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer is pushing a bill that would make supermarkets exempt from the commercial rent tax, which the city charges businesses in prime parts of Manhattan.

“It has outlived its purpose, and now it’s crushing our local businesses,” Brewer said at a press conference Monday outside City Hall.

The tax has been repealed in most of the city but still applies in Manhattan between Murray St. and 96th St. The tax applies to businesses paying over $300,000 a year in rent, who pay a tax equal to 3.9% of their rent bill.