Yearly Archives: 2014

70% of Fortune 500 Companies Use Offshore Tax Havens

June 9, 2014. In 2013, 70% of Fortune 500 companies used tax havens. More of these companies were based in New York than in any other state, depriving New York of considerable tax revenue. The practice of “booking profits” in foreign countries where there are few or no taxes is examined in a new study released yesterday by U.S. Public Interest Research Group (USPIRG) and Citizens for Tax Justice (CTJ), “Offshore Shell Games 2014: The Use of Offshore Tax Havens by Fortune 500 Companies.” For [...]

Anthony Troia2020-10-27T13:07:08-04:00June 9th, 2014|Press Releases, Tax & Budget, Tax Policy|

Reform of NY’s TDI Program and Provision of Family Leave Insurance: Estimated Costs

June 5, 2014. In this report, FPI estimates costs for increasing workers' weekly wages during temporary disability leaves and extending those benefits to family leaves under proposed legislation in the Assembly and Senate. As an increasing number of women and mothers participate in the workforce, federal and state laws and policies have not met the needs of both male and female workers who must balance taking care of themselves and their families with the responsibilities of work. Under Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) in New York, [...]

Anthony Troia2020-11-13T15:05:54-05:00June 5th, 2014|Economic Trends & Policy, Labor Market & Workforce, Must Read, Press Releases, Reports, Briefs and Presentations, Social Policy|

Testimony to Raise the Statewide Minimum Wage and Allow Localities to Set a Higher Minimum Wage

June 2, 2014. FPI’s James Parrott submitted testimony for the June 2 New York State Senate Labor Committee hearing on several minimum wage-related bills, including five bills that would authorize local governments to enact minimum wages above the statewide level, and one bill that would establish a statewide “living wage” of $15 an hour, indexed to inflation, for certain large employers and chain stores. The FPI testimony reviewed several reasons why it makes sense for New York State to authorize cities and counties to establish [...]

Anthony Troia2020-11-13T14:58:52-05:00June 2nd, 2014|Economic Trends & Policy, Labor Market & Workforce, Testimony|

Immigrants and Local Economic Growth: Realizing New York’s Full Potential

May 22, 2014. How can lifting barriers to economic advancement to immigrants also provide a boost to the New York State economy? In November, 2013, the Fiscal Policy Institute convened a multi-day retreat to discuss this question. Advocates, organizers, service providers, researchers, and people working in policy development joined FPI at the Blue Mountain Center in the Adirondacks for a series of highly engaging conversations. It was a rare and warmly welcomed instance of people coming together to discuss these questions from Long Island, New [...]

Anthony Troia2020-11-13T14:56:15-05:00May 22nd, 2014|Economic Trends & Policy, Migration, Reports, Briefs and Presentations|

De Blasio Pulls Off Deft Budget-Balancing Parlay

May 19, 2014. In this op-ed in The Chief, James Parrott discusses Mayor de Blasio's Executive Budget and the impact of the UFT labor settlement.

Anthony Troia2020-10-27T13:08:49-04:00May 19th, 2014|Letters, State Budget, Tax & Budget|

Statement on New York City Budget Accounting Action

May 12, 2014. Today’s joint announcement by Mayor de Blasio and Comptroller Stringer clarifies a City budget accounting question regarding an obligation the City incurred in connection with the recent labor settlement with the United Federation of Teachers. The payments in question pertain to UFT members retiring after June 30, 2014 and cover wage increases for the first two years (2009 and 2010) of the recently settled contract. Officials of both the Mayor’s and the Comptroller’s offices have confirmed that the announcement is strictly an [...]

Anthony Troia2020-10-27T13:08:49-04:00May 12th, 2014|Blog, Press Releases, State Budget, Tax & Budget|

Another View on Mayor de Blasio’s FY 2015 New York City Executive Budget

May 9, 2014. Understandably, much of the commentary on Mayor de Blasio’s FY 2015 Executive Budget has dealt with the financial impact of the recent UFT contract if applied across the entire 350,000-person unionized city workforce. It is, afterall, by far the most significant labor deal in City history, potentially affecting the entire workforce for 7 years, and 150,000 of those workers for an additional two years going back to 2009 and 2010. Some observers can’t quite grasp that Bill de Blasio pulled that off, [...]

Anthony Troia2020-10-27T13:08:49-04:00May 9th, 2014|Blog, State Budget, Tax & Budget|

The Significance of the TWU and UFT Labor Contracts

May 7, 2014. This commentary by FPI’s James Parrott on the new New York City labor contracts was requested by CUNY’s Joseph S. Murphy Institute and appears on their new blog. For the first time in nearly five years, major labor agreements were recently reached covering public sector workers in New York City. On April 17, Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 100 concluded a new 5-year contract dating from January 2012 covering 34,000 workers at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), most of whom work for [...]

Anthony Troia2020-10-27T13:08:49-04:00May 7th, 2014|Blog, State Budget|

Testimony on Local Government Minimum Wage Authority

April 30, 2014. In testimony presented before the New York City Council, FPI’s James Parrott reviewed several reasons why it makes sense for New York State to authorize cities and counties to establish higher minimum wage levels than the statewide minimum. Parrott’s testimony cited data showing that there are wide disparities across counties within the state in terms of the local cost of living, and that there is a similar wide disparity in median wage levels, particularly between New York City and suburban counties on [...]

Anthony Troia2020-11-13T14:58:52-05:00April 30th, 2014|Economic Trends & Policy, Labor Market & Workforce, Testimony|

Parrott-Brecher Debate on NYC Municipal Contracts

April 25, 2014. Negotiations are underway to settle New York City municipal contracts, almost all of which have been expired for four or more years. Pattern bargaining has long been the norm in the City, but about one-third of the City’s 300,000 unionized workers, including teachers and nurses, never received raises from the last round. FPI’s James Parrott engaged in a spirited on-line debate discussing the topic “What can the City Afford?” during the week of April 21 with Charles Brecher of the Citizens Budget [...]

Anthony Troia2020-10-27T13:08:49-04:00April 25th, 2014|Reports, Briefs and Presentations, State Budget, Tax & Budget|

Arizona Law on Immigration Spooks Business Leaders-FPI in Huffington Post

April 16, 2014. FPI's David Dyssegaard Kallick wrote an op-ed for the Huffington Post, reporting on how Arizona business leaders see the economic impacts of the state's "Show Me Your Papers" law. It may be hard to statistically measure the economic impact of the bill, widely perceived as anti-immigrant, argues Kallick. But a good gauge of the damage done is how serious the state's business leaders have been about efforts to turn the anti-immigrant perception around. And, Kallick says, falling behind the curve on the [...]

Anthony Troia2014-08-13T10:05:53-04:00April 16th, 2014|Letters, Migration|

Corning and MasterCard Paid .6% in State Taxes

April 14, 2014. As New York struggles with tough budget decisions about essential public services, profitable Fortunate 500 companies like Corning, MasterCard, Lowes and Consolidated Edison are paying 2% or less in state income taxes for 2012 thanks to copious loopholes, lavish giveaways and crafty accounting. The recently passed state budget did nothing to close these loopholes and this will continue the unlevel playing field where the rich are able to take advantage of the system. 90 Reasons We Need State Corporate Tax Reform: State [...]

Anthony Troia2014-04-14T15:07:26-04:00April 14th, 2014|Press Releases, Reports, Briefs and Presentations, Tax & Budget, Tax Policy|

New York State Economic and Fiscal Outlook 2014-2015

February 4, 2014. In its 24th annual New York State budget briefing, the Fiscal Policy Institute reviews the major spending and tax reduction proposals contained in Governor Andrew Cuomo’s 2014-15 Executive Budget. FPI’s briefing provides a critical assessment of four fundamental assumptions that shape the proposed budget and state fiscal projections for the following three years. These assumptions deal with the preferred size of New York government, the optimal growth rate of state spending, the potential for budget savings related to government consolidation, and the [...]

Anthony Troia2020-11-13T14:17:41-05:00April 11th, 2014|City Budget, Press Releases, Reports, Briefs and Presentations, State Budget, Tax & Budget, Tax Policy|

Case Studies Examine Shale Drilling’s Mixed Legacy

April 11, 2014. New case studies of the impact of shale gas drilling in Carroll County, Ohio; Greene and Tioga counties in Pennsylvania; and Wetzel County, West Virginia, provide numerous cautionary tales for New York as it considers whether or not to allow Horizontal Drilling and High-Volume Hydraulic Fracturing in the Marcellus Shale and Other Low-Permeability Gas Reservoirs. The case studies, which were completed by the Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia organizations that are part of the Multi-State Shale Research Collaborative, build upon the Collaborative’s [...]

Anthony Troia2020-11-13T14:56:15-05:00April 10th, 2014|Economic Trends & Policy, Must Read, Reports, Briefs and Presentations|