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… (read more)

May 20, 2014. It comes as no surprise to working families that New York State’s tax system is fundamentally unfair. Low- and middle-income workers pay, on average, a much higher share of their income in state and local taxes than the highest income earners. According to analysis by the Washington, D.C.-based Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the 40% of New York’s tax filers with the lowest incomes pay at least 10% of their income in state and local taxes… (read more)

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.

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… (read more)

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… (read more)

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),… (read more)

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… (read more)

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… (read more)

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… (read more)

March 31, 2014. This brief compares the New York State Revenue Bill to earlier Executive, Assembly, and Senate tax proposals.