Press Releases

Statement on Mayor’s Budget Commitment to Increase Wages for Low-wage Nonprofit Social Sector Workers

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 hour. These front-line workers, many [...]

Anthony Troia2020-11-13T14:58:52-05:00May 8th, 2015|Economic Trends & Policy, Labor Market & Workforce, Press Releases, State Budget, Tax & Budget|

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 [...]

Anthony Troia2015-04-10T13:07:44-04:00March 30th, 2015|Press Releases, State Budget, Tax & Budget, Tax Policy|

New York’s Top 1% See All Income Gains Since Recession

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 of IRS tax data—using the same [...]

Anthony Troia2020-11-13T14:27:56-05:00January 26th, 2015|Economic Trends & Policy, Labor Market & Workforce, Press Releases|

Preliminary Analysis: Budget Takes One Step Forward and Two Steps Back

January 21, 2015. Ron Deutsch, Executive Director “The Governor’s proposal takes some positive steps forward to deliver targeted property tax relief and address poverty in the state. However, for every step forward we take two steps back if we don’t dramatically increase aid to our fiscally stressed schools and local governments and commit substantial resources to ending child poverty in our state.” James Parrott, Deputy Director and Chief Economist “To really help the poor and the middle class, we need to scrap the 2% spending [...]

Anthony Troia2015-01-21T19:39:32-05:00January 21st, 2015|City Budget, Press Releases, State Budget, Tax & Budget, Tax Policy|

FPI Commends Governor Cuomo for Advancing Middle Class Circuit Breaker—Targeted Tax Relief Tied to Income Is the Most Effective Mechanism

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. The Fiscal Policy Institute (FPI), working with our partners in the Omnibus Property Tax Consortium, has been calling for a targeted circuit breaker for years. “We are pleased that the Governor announced a circuit breaker proposal that targets relief to working and middle class [...]

Anthony Troia2015-01-16T09:26:09-05:00January 14th, 2015|Blog, City Budget, Press Releases, Tax & Budget, Tax Policy|

New York City Taxes Ripe for Reform

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 report summary is also available. [...]

Anthony Troia2020-10-27T13:09:40-04:00January 13th, 2015|City Budget, Press Releases, Reports, Briefs and Presentations, Tax & Budget, Tax Policy|

Wage Standards are Key to Reversing the Erosion of Wages and Living Standards in New York City

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 skilled labor provides a path into [...]

Anthony Troia2020-11-13T14:58:52-05:00December 16th, 2014|Economic Outlook, Economic Trends & Policy, Labor Market & Workforce, Press Releases, Reports, Briefs and Presentations|

President’s Immigration Action Expected to Benefit Economy

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 number of studies have looked [...]

Anthony Troia2014-11-21T15:49:54-05:00November 21st, 2014|Migration, Press Releases|

Fiscal Policy Institute Names Ron Deutsch as Interim Executive Director

November 17, 2014. The Board of Directors of the Fiscal Policy Institute announced today that it has appointed Albany veteran Ron Deutsch as Interim Executive Director effective immediately. After a year of dedicated service, Dr. Frederick G. Floss has decided to return to his position as professor of economics and finance at Buffalo State College but will continue to work with the organization as a Senior Fellow. "Income inequality and tax fairness will be two of the most important issues facing New York when the [...]

Anthony Troia2014-11-17T13:51:36-05:00November 17th, 2014|Press Releases, Tax & Budget|

Over one-third of New York City employees are paid less than $14 an hour; workers of color are twice as likely to be low-wage

June 17, 2014. The Fiscal Policy Institute (FPI) released a new data brief today showing the sector of employment and race/ethnicity for New York City workers paid less than $14 an hour. On an annual basis, $14 an hour would put a family $1,900 below the $31,039 poverty threshold for a New York City family. Altogether, 1.2 million New York City workers are paid less than $14 an hour, 36 percent of all public and private wage and salary workers. This includes part-time as well [...]

Anthony Troia2020-11-13T14:58:52-05:00June 17th, 2014|Blog, Economic Trends & Policy, Labor Market & Workforce, Press Releases, Reports, Briefs and Presentations|

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|

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|

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|