Media Coverage on the Yacht Tax Exemption

March 30, 2015. After the Fiscal Policy Institute issued a media release about the state budget including a sales tax exemption, some of the coverage by media outlets included: New York Times, March 30, 2015. "We were simply looking for things like property tax relief for regular folks and we found the yacht exemption. I think it is incredibly sad you have so many New Yorkers who are struggling and this government’s priorities are on a yacht tax credit." Ron Deutsch, FPI. New York Daily [...]

2015-04-06T10:30:45-04:00March 30th, 2015|FPI in the News|

Initial Response to Budget Agreement on Revenue Bill: No Property Tax Relief and No Reform of Tax Credits; But Wealthy Get Sales Tax Exemption on Luxury Yachts

March 30, 2015. "It appears our legislative leaders couldn't agree to provide tax relief to struggling homeowners and renters through a middle class property tax circuit breaker but managed to find the political will to provide sales tax exemptions for people buying luxury yachts. This seems like a case of some seriously misplaced priorities," said Ron Deutsch, executive director of the Fiscal Policy Institute. "We are also dismayed that the IDA tax credit reform proposal advanced by the Governor did not make it into the final [...]

2015-04-10T13:07:44-04:00March 30th, 2015|Press Releases, State Budget, Tax & Budget, Tax Policy|

Op-ed: De Blasio’s welfare reform correction: Critics who claim we’re sliding back to the bad old are blind to reality

March 27, 2015. An op-ed by James Parrott, Daily News. Some see the slight increase in New York City's welfare rolls in recent months as cause for alarm, warning that we are on an inevitable slide back to bad old days of chronic government dependency. In fact, the uptick reflects a long overdue policy correction. Changes underway are about making temporary assistance "a leg up and not a hand out," which is exactly what welfare should be. Far from dismantling welfare reform, Mayor de Blasio [...]

2020-11-13T15:12:43-05:00March 27th, 2015|Letters, Social Policy|

Budget Savings from a Minimum Wage Increase

March 27, 2015. As negotiations over New York State’s budget draw to a close, Governor Cuomo and the legislature are trying to hammer out an agreement to raise the state’s minimum wage, which is currently just $8.75 and is currently scheduled to top out at $9.00 at the end of this year. Both Governor Cuomo and the Assembly have proposed measures to raise New York State’s minimum wage, including a higher minimum wage level for New York City in the Governor’s bill, or, in the [...]

Comparison of the Executive, Assembly, and Senate Education Proposals FY 2015-2016

March 24, 2015. The governor’s Executive Budget proposal would increase school aid by $1.07 billion. The increase in school aid is contingent on passage of a package of changes to teacher evaluation, tenure, and other procedures called the Education Opportunity Agenda. The budget also includes an Education Tax Credit which would provide a large credit for donations to schools and the Dream Act which would provide tuition assistance to undocumented immigrants who came to the country as children. The Assembly’s proposed budget would increase school [...]

Comparison of the Executive, Assembly, and Senate Property Tax Relief Proposals FY 2015-2016

March 23, 2015. The governor’s Executive Budget proposal includes a significant new property “circuit breaker” that would provide relief to households (both owners and renters) whose property taxes are unreasonably high relative to their income. Circuit breakers address a serious shortcoming of the property tax—that payments are not linked to the taxpayer’s ability to pay. The State Assembly’s proposed budget also included the circuit breaker with an important modification—removing the link to the property tax cap. The Senate, in contrast, replaced the circuit breaker with [...]

Policy Brief: Schools and Poverty

March 17, 2015. The state can improve low-performing schools and help students who face learning barriers by increasing funding for key education programs and poverty-fighting efforts. Proposals by the governor and the legislature are a start, but still fall short of what is needed. In a report issued in February, the state identified 178 schools in 17 school districts as “priority” or “failing” schools. These schools score in the bottom 5 percent in student proficiency tests or have low graduation rates, or both. The school [...]

2020-11-13T15:04:35-05:00March 17th, 2015|Education, Social Policy, State Budget|

Briefing on Mayor deBlasio’s Preliminary FY 2016 NYC Budget: Addressing Needs and Budgeting Cautiously as the Recovery Progresses

March 10, 2015. FPI's FY 2016 New York City budget briefing includes: An overview of the Mayor’s Preliminary FY 2016 Budget proposal, with a particular focus on new human services spending initiatives in the context of changes in human services spending in recent years. The social and economic context in New York City at the beginning of 2015: the unevenness of the recovery and wage, income and employment trends. The presentation will review the extent and persistence of low wages in the social services contract [...]

Briefing on the Mayor’s Preliminary 2016 NYC Budget

On Tuesday morning, March 10, 2015, the Fiscal Policy Institute presented its annual New York City budget briefing to the Economic Justice and Social Welfare Network at the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies. The briefing is open to the public. The topics covered during the briefing included: An overview of the Mayor’s Preliminary FY 2016 Budget proposal, with a particular focus on new human services spending initiatives in the context of changes in human services spending in recent years. The social and economic context in [...]

2020-12-21T14:48:16-05:00March 10th, 2015|Fact Sheets|

Briefing on Mayor deBlasio’s Preliminary FY 2016 NYC Budget: Addressing Needs and Budgeting Cautiously as the Recovery Progresses

March 10, 2015. In his briefing of NYC Mayor Bill deBlasio’s second budget, FPI’s James Parrott notes: several positive budget changes; strong job and tax growth, but uneven gains for workers and families; budget outlook improving; and items still to be addressed on the budget front.

Policy Brief: Property Tax Relief (Circuit Breaker)

March 5, 2015. The property tax relief plan (circuit breaker) proposed by the governor would help low- and middle-income New Yorkers that are struggling to pay their taxes and should be adopted with a few changes that would make it even more effective. The governor’s Executive Budget proposal includes a significant new property tax “circuit breaker” that would provide relief to households whose property taxes are unreasonably high relative to their income. Currently, 33 states and the District of Columbia provide some type of property [...]

Policy Brief: Education Tax Credit

March 2, 2015. The Executive Budget includes an Education Tax Credit (ETC) that would provide individuals and businesses with a substantial credit against income taxes owed for donations to private and public schools, or scholarship organizations. The governor’s legislation proposes a 75 percent credit rate, with individual credit amounts capped at $1 million. Any unused credit could be carried over to a subsequent year. Both businesses and individuals would be eligible to receive the credit on personal or corporate income tax returns. Total credits would [...]

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