Automobiles are one of the absolute worst quality-of-life-impacting things about living in Manhattan. They're loud, dangerous, and smelly.

I'm not trying to hide my cards; if it were up to me, I'd ban private cars (at the very least) entirely in Midtown (at the very least).

The difference is that you can avoid the driving tax by not driving; unlike the city tax that can only be avoided by not getting born.

So it's less of a tax and more of paying for a public service.