New Yorkers may soon be forced to pay more for their streaming subscriptions like Netflix and Hulu in a bid to stave off a major MTA fare hike.

Democratic members of the New York State Assembly on Thursday submitted a budget proposal that would impose a 4% sales tax on popular video and audio streaming services.

Other money-making schemes introduced in Albany include a fee on package deliveries and a surcharge on ride-hailing rides, the Wall Street Journal first reported.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority said it needs an influx of $1 billion to keep subways, buses and commuter trains running, without resorting to a planned 5.5% fare hike that would boost the price of a single ride from the current $2.75 to $3.

The Democrats’ proposal to tax streaming services is intended as an alternative to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s controversial plan to increase payroll taxes in a bid to raise $700 million to bail out the cash-strapped MTA.

The largest public transit authority in the US has struggled with sagging bus and subway ridership in the wake of the COVID pandemic, which has caused its revenue to drop.

Lawmakers representing cities and towns outside New York City are against Hochul’s proposed plan and are expected to reject it.

Instead, they are weighing a host of alternative measures, including raising corporate taxes to 9.25% on businesses reporting more than $5 million of income.

The tax hike would generate $865 million in the first year, most of which would go to fund the MTA.

The proposed sales tax on streaming services like Netlfix, Hulu, Disney+, HBO Max and Spotify is expected to raise more than $1 million a year, while a 25-cent surcharge on package deliveries would raise a further $300 million, according to lawmakers’ estimates.

A separate proposal would see a 50-cent fee tacked on to ride-share trips within New York City, which could raise $240 million.

A representative of Uber warned that if approved, the new surcharge would be passed on to customers.

MTA officials said they do not care where the money would come from, but they generally favor Hochul’s payroll tax proposal because it is more stable and less unpredictable than corporate profits.

Lawmakers and Hochul must hammer out a deal before the current state budget expires on March 31.