April 15, 2008. FPI examines the business tax treatment of "carried interest" earned by private equity fund and hedge fund managers, and finds that closing the carried interest loophole could raise $160-$225 million in new revenue for New York City - while leveling the playing field for New York businesses. Press release, full report.
April 10, 2008. FPI executive director Frank Mauro spoke at the meeting of the New York State Commission on Property Tax Relief. Transcript (starting on page 7).
March 27, 2008. What does the millionaires' tax have to do with the Syracuse economy? That was just one topic of discussion at the Southeast Community Center on Thursday evening when advocates from local nonprofit organizations, labor leaders and community members gathered to study the state budget. Press release >>
March 26, 2008. More than 100 organizations came together as the Better Choice Budget Campaign (of which FPI is a member) to urge leaders to listen to the public and support the millionaires' tax. Additional materials from the press conference: op ed on better choices by Ron Deutsch; Siena poll showing overwhelming public support for millionaires' tax (question 23); and fact sheet from New Yorkers for Fiscal Fairness laying out short and long term solutions to burgeoning property taxes. Also, the new Tough Times radio [...]
March 14, 2008. A letter to the editor of The Saratogian by FPI senior economist Trudi Renwick.
March 6, 2008. This presentation was given by Frank Mauro, executive director of FPI, at Changing the Property Tax System in New York, a conference sponsored by TREND, the Tax Reform Effort of Northern Dutchess. Other speakers included Robert McKeon of TREND and John Whiteley, Tri-County Committee for Property Tax Relief. Presentations: Mauro, McKeon, Whiteley.
February 27, 2008. Presentation by FPI Deputy Director and Chief Economist James Parrott. Parrott was one of five economists invited to speak at the conference, which gave Budget Director Laura Anglin and leaders of the Senate and Assembly fiscal committees the opportunity to hear testimony from leading state and national economic experts. By March 1, the legislature and governor must issue a joint report containing the consensus economic forecast and estimates of receipts for the 2008-2009 fiscal year.
February 20, 2008. FPI's release showing the detailed impact of President Bush's $1.7 billion cut to New York for 2008-2009.
February 14, 2008. FPI prepared the data for this report this report from the Alliance for Quality Education - showing that the proposed cuts in foundation aid in the executive budget disproportionately hurt students from poor households. The districts outside of New York City with the highest proportion of poverty (districts in which, on average, 60 percent of students live in poverty) face 20 percent of the proposed cuts despite having only 15 percent of all students in the state. New York City students (of [...]
February 12, 2008. This presentation was prepared by Frank Mauro, executive director of FPI, for the February 12, 2008, meeting of the New York State Commission on Property Tax Relief. Presentation: Setting the Context for Commission Deliberations Expanded version of the presentation Excerpt from the meeting transcript (Mauro testimony)
February 11, 2008. Why are property taxes so high in New York? State fiscal policies have created the bind. This brief looks at four reforms that would help - and could be funded in a way that makes the overall tax system fairer. In the meantime, a middle class circuit breaker would ease the pressure on the property tax much more effectively that the Middle Class STAR program. On May 22, 2008, the brief was handed out at a public meeting in New City hosted [...]
February 11, 2008. Despite the billions currently spent on economic development, we have relatively little to show for it. The appropriate guiding principle is building the middle class - thus increasing the already impressive productivity of New York workers. Logical next steps include scrapping Empire Zones, reforming IDAs and more. Brief >>
February 11, 2008. Testimony submitted by FPI executive director Frank Mauro to the Senate Finance and Assembly Ways and Means committees. Given the many signs that we are in a recession, state leaders must be especially careful about the way they close the state budget gap. Some gap-closing strategies could actually exacerbate the downturn.
February 5, 2008. Testimony submitted by FPI senior economist Trudi Renwick to the Senate Finance and Assembly Ways and Means Committees. Renwick explains several important policy opportunities for New York: increase the basic welfare grant; liberalize the earned income disregard; finance the Earned Income Tax Credit from the General Fund; and take child care funding out of the Flexible Fund for Family Services (FFFS), to ensure that adequate resources go for this essential work support. Renwick includes a series of charts and tables describing TANF [...]
From February 2008 through June 2011, In reverse chronological order: July 10, 2011. Massachusetts has spent 30 years living with a property-tax cap. By Cara Matthews, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. Also in the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin, the Journal News (Westchester and Rockland), and the Albany Times-Union. In Massachusetts, local governments adopt one budget that includes municipal and school spending. Voters make the decision on all overrides. Proposition 2½ is less restrictive than New York's new cap, said Frank Mauro, executive director of the labor-backed [...]