New York State Democrat lawmakers said they’re looking at new and higher taxes to address a ‘massive’ budget deficit caused by the pandemic.

According to Thursday’s reports, lawmakers discussed approving tax hikes, cutting spending, or implementing both of these options in their meeting on Wednesday.

This also includes considering higher taxes on the state’s wealthy residents as well as the legalization of marijuana and mobile betting.

In a news briefing on Wednesday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-N.Y.) said that the state will likely see tax increases regardless of what the government does in terms of aid.

New York is facing a $14.5 billion budget gap this fiscal year, federal relief dollars don’t appear to be forthcoming, and schools and local governments are facing deep budget cuts.

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Of the more than a dozen bills already introduced in the Legislature that would raise different taxes on the rich, some advocates for taxing the wealthy said that six proposals should be prioritized in the state’s immediate response to the pandemic. “We had to give the Legislature something digestible, so what we wanted to focus in on were the six bills that raise the most money,” said Charles Khan, organizing director of the Strong Economy for All Coalition, a group of labor and community organizations advocating for policies that address economic inequality. “We just wanted to include a combination that a lot of different New Yorkers could get behind, that was really targeted at the very, very, very top of income earners in New York state. Because we know that regular people are struggling, but the really wealthy people are $77 billion richer since the pandemic,” Khan added, citing one recent analysis that showed how much New York’s billionaires had increased their wealth between March and June.

One option for taxing the wealthy would be to increase the income tax on New York’s millionaires, adding higher income tax brackets for those making over $5 million, $10 million and $100 million annually. Currently, the highest state income tax rate is 8.82% for any individual making over $1 million. While several versions of this kind of proposal exist in the state Legislature, the most aggressive increases were included in a bill sponsored by state Sen. Robert Jackson and Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal. Under that legislation, people who make more than $100 million in taxable income would face an 11.82% income tax rate. Make Billionaires Pay, a progressive campaign urging the passage of this and other taxes on the rich, estimated that this tax increase would raise $2.5 billion to $4.5 billion annually.

On Thursday, New Jersey officials announced that the state would pass a version of a millionaires tax hike in response to widening economic inequality – causing some to put pressure on New York to reassess its own income tax brackets in the wake of the pandemic. Responding to those calls, state Budget Director Robert Mujica noted in a statement Thursday that the 12.6% combined city and state income tax rate in New York City – where he said most of the state’s billionaires live – is already higher than both New Jersey’s new tax rate and what state lawmakers including Jackson and Rosenthal proposed.

A bill from state Sen. Jessica Ramos and Assembly Member Carmen De La Rosa would create a “mark to market” tax on New Yorkers with more than $1 billion in net assets. Currently, when the value of someone’s assets increases, they only face a capital gains tax when the asset is sold. This legislation, however, would tax unrealized capital gains, so that if an asset increases in value by $1 million, that $1 million is treated as taxable income even if the asset isn’t sold. The tax would bring in an estimated $5.5 billion per year, and the revenue would fund a worker bailout fund for people excluded from traditional unemployment benefits and wage protections.

Another proposal that dates back to before the coronavirus pandemic would impose a 0.5% tax on corporate stock buybacks. The practice of companies using extra cash to repurchase their own shares – thereby lowering the number of shares in circulation and increasing the value of each share – has been attacked by progressive lawmakers and labor advocates as corporate greed, when companies could be using excess cash to increase the wages of workers, for example. This proposal, sponsored by state Sen. Jen Metzger and Assembly Member Yuh-Line Niou would raise $3.2 billion annually.

https://www.cityandstateny.com/articles/policy/policy/how-new-york-could-raise-taxes-rich.html

Poster Comment:

The NY legislature could not get elected dog catcher in Tennessee. No state income tax. No Democrats in charge outside the mayors of a few big cities. State legislature trying to pass bills to increase the rights of gun owners. Billionaires might consider moving from NYC to Nashville.