May 27, 2015. This report details the stark differences between the circuit breaker relief proposals advanced by the Governor and Assembly versus the flawed STAR rebate plan the Senate proposed. The report shows that both programs would provide some property tax relief but the circuit breaker credits are superior to STAR rebates in many ways. For example:

May 8, 2015.

Contact: James Parrott, Deputy Director, Fiscal Policy Institute, 212-721-5624

“The Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies (FPWA) and the Fiscal Policy Institute (FPI) applaud the Mayor for including in his Executive Budget a first-ever $11.50 per hour wage floor for the City’s contracted social service workforce. FPWA and FPI have been advocating for this important commitment over the past year. This will mean a big earnings boost for 10,000 workers whose wages currently average less than $10.00 per … (read more)

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 … (read more)

January 26, 2015. The incomes of the top 1 percent in New York State were nearly 50 times more than the bottom 99 percent in 2012, according to new analysis published by the Economic Policy Institute for the Economic Analysis and Research Network (EARN). The Fiscal Policy Institute is a founding member of the EARN network. In The Increasingly Unequal States of America: Income Inequality by State, 1917 to 2012, economists Estelle Sommelier and Mark Price update their analysis … (read more)

January 21, 2015.

January 14, 2015. Governor Cuomo just announced a $1.66 billion property tax credit program (commonly referred to as a “Circuit Breaker”) to help ease the burden on working class families who are paying too much of their income in property taxes.

January 13, 2015. The City of New York taxes its wealthiest residents much less than middle- and low-income residents, and state and local officials should fix three major City tax breaks that expire this year, according to a new report from the Fiscal Policy Institute (FPI). In a sweeping report that reviews decades of tax changes and trends, FPI pinpoints inequities, tallies the cost of broken tax breaks, and urges tax reforms that reflect today’s economy and current challenges. A … (read more)

December 16, 2014. Despite considerable growth in the New York City economy over the past two decades, very little of that growth has trickled down to the average worker and his or her family, according to our new report. Wage standards like the minimum wage and the living wage are critical in ensuring that there is a floor under the job market and that workers are adequately paid. Prevailing wage standards, however, are a key means to ensure that … (read more)

December 14, 2014. A report completed by a research team of the Multi-State Shale Research Collaborative found a clear relationship between the density of shale well drilling activity and increases in crime, rents, traffic fatalities and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). These key “quality of life” issues had been identified in prior work by the Collaborative and in the work of others as having a potential relationship with intensive extractive industry “booms.”

To examine this relationship, the Pennsylvania research team divided … (read more)

November 21, 2014. In response to President Obama’s announcement that he will use the power of the executive office to shield about 5 million people from deportation and give them authorization to work, the Fiscal Policy Institute has prepared answers to the following questions.

What are the economic implications of administrative relief?

The Fiscal Policy Institute expects a 5 to 10 percent increase in wages for the roughly 5 million workers expected to be eligible for legal work status. A … (read more)