Policy & Research

Housing Costs, Not Taxes, Drive Migration out of New York

On average, savings from lower housing costs are 15 times greater than savings from taxes Press Contact: Monica Klein, press@fiscalpolicy.org Report by Andrew Perry, FPI Senior Policy Analyst January 2023 View the Article PDF Key Findings The typical family that moves out of New York State saves 15 times more from lower housing costs than they do from lower taxes. Of the top twenty largest county-to-county moves out of New York State, annual mortgage costs are [...]

Anthony Troia2023-02-03T01:02:50-05:00January 31st, 2023|Blog, NYS Budget, NYS Tax Policy, Reports, Briefs and Presentations|

November Cash Basis Report shows higher than expected Personal Income Tax receipts

NY Personal Income Tax has raised $37.8 billion year to date — 37.5% more than state projections Press Contact: Monica Klein, 917-565-0715press@fiscalpolicy.org NEW YORK, NY | December 19, 2022 — The New York State Comptroller this week released its November 2022 cash basis report, which documents recent trends in state spending and revenue. Key Points:In Fiscal Year 2023, New York’s personal income tax (PIT) has raised $37.8 billion year to date — 37.5 percent more than state projections.Since COVID, the last [...]

Anthony Troia2022-12-19T15:17:57-05:00December 19th, 2022|Blog, Economic Outlook, Economic Trends & Policy, NYS Budget, Tax & Budget|

Personal Income Tax Revenue Exceeds Projections in Mid-Year Financial Plan

PIT receipts continue to bring in significant revenue & effectively support state spending Press Contact: Monica Klein, 917-565-0715 press@fiscalpolicy.org NEW YORK, NY | November 15, 2022 — In its Mid-Year Financial Plan Update, the New York State Division of the Budget (DOB) reported that tax revenues continue to exceed previous projections. Personal Income Tax (PIT) receipts continue to outperform expectations — bringing in $48.95 billion — nearly $2 billion more than projected in the enacted budget financial [...]

Anthony Troia2022-11-30T09:19:13-05:00November 30th, 2022|Blog, Economic Outlook, Economic Trends & Policy, NYS Budget, Tax & Budget|

FPI Statement on New NYS Labor Data and Comptroller DiNapoli’s Labor Force Report

New York added 456,000 jobs from June 2021 to June 2022 — making New York the fifth fastest growing job market in the United States Press Contact: Monica Klein, 917-565-0715 press@fiscalpolicy.org NEW YORK, NY | November 22, 2022 — Nathan Gusdorf, Executive Director of the Fiscal Policy Institute, today released the following statement: “Recent data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics today reveal New York State added 456,000 jobs from June 2021 to June 2022, which [...]

Anthony Troia2022-11-30T08:51:54-05:00November 30th, 2022|Blog, Economic Outlook, Economic Trends & Policy, NYS Budget, Tax & Budget|

October Cash Basis Report shows higher than expected Personal Income Tax receipts

Last three financial plan revenue estimates dramatically underestimated PIT revenue Press Contact: Monica Klein, 917-565-0715 press@fiscalpolicy.org NEW YORK, NY | November 21, 2022 — The New York State Comptroller this week released its October 2022 cash basis report, which documents recent trends in state spending and revenue. Key Points: In fiscal year 2023, New York’s personal income tax (PIT) has raised $35.1 billion year to date. Since Covid, the last three financial plans have all dramatically underestimated [...]

Anthony Troia2022-11-22T08:12:17-05:00November 22nd, 2022|Blog, Economic Outlook, Economic Trends & Policy, NYS Budget, Tax & Budget|

Inequality in New York & Options for Progressive Tax Reform

View and Download PDF November 10, 2022 KEY FINDINGS: A new report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) finds that New York State is home to the highest concentration of extreme wealth in the United States. New York State also has the greatest income inequality in the United States. In order to understand inequality, we need to look at both income and wealth. By both of these measures, New York is the most unequal state in the nation. New Yorkers [...]

Anthony Troia2022-12-21T14:09:55-05:00November 9th, 2022|Blog, Must Read, NYS Budget, NYS Tax Policy, Reports, Briefs and Presentations|

FPI Testifies to NYS Senate on Fines and Fees

FPI's Chief Economist, Jonas Shaende, was invited to testify before the New York State Senate Standing Committee on Codes and the New York State Senate Standing Committee on Crime Victims, Crime, and Corrections. Dr. Shaende spoke in support of the proposed S.3979C (Salazar)/A.2348B (Niou), the End Predatory Court Fees Act. Testimony: Full Text

Jonas Shaende2021-10-29T14:49:28-04:00October 29th, 2021|Blog, Local Tax & Budget Policy, Statements & Public Testimony , Testimony|

Excluded Worker Fund Will Run Out of Money

October 7, 2021 (updated from October 4). The groundbreaking Excluded Worker Fund, which gives aid to people who are excluded from unemployment insurance benefits, has crossed the $1 billion mark, and stands at $1,148,078,400 as of October 4. That’s a huge benefit to workers - nearly all of them undocumented - in our state, and is helping people and local economies in all regions. Equally impressive: 99 percent of those who have been approved get $15,600, the higher of two benefit levels. This is designed to [...]

david2021-10-07T15:45:10-04:00October 4th, 2021|Blog, Immigration, New York State|

Some Regions Lag in Excluded Worker Fund

October 4, 2021. New York State’s historic Excluded Worker Fund has been helping undocumented immigrants and others who were left out of unemployment compensation during the pandemic. According to data provided by the New York State Department of Labor last week, the fund - as predicted - is having an important positive impact on all regions of the state. The most important benefit of the Excluded Worker Fund is helping workers and their families, but the infusion of money into the community helps local economies [...]

david2021-10-04T18:01:06-04:00October 4th, 2021|Blog, Immigration, New York State|

Millions of Dollars Help Immigrants and Boost the Local Economy Across NYS

Sept. 3, 2021. The first data is out: $250 million has already been issued to immigrants who lost work during the pandemic but were excluded from federal aid, and another $600 million is “undergoing final verification.” After just the first month, 50,000 people have already been found eligible, funds have been dispersed to over 10,000, and another 40,000 are in the final stages of the verification process. Equally impressive: 99 percent of those who have received the funds are approved for $15,600, the higher of [...]

david2021-09-07T12:46:26-04:00September 3rd, 2021|Blog, Immigration|

Local Governments Across New York State Must Re‐examine Fine and Fee Revenue

Many local governments across New York State ‐ particularly small town and village governments ‐ rely on fine and fee revenue as part of their annual budget, with more than 30 towns and villages having a reliance of ten percent or greater on this type of revenue. Much of it is generated through Justice Courts which have jurisdiction over vehicle and traffic violations, evictions, small claims, and certain criminal offenses. Click here to read the full report: Local Governments Across New York State Must Re‐examine [...]

Jonas Shaende2021-08-31T21:11:42-04:00August 31st, 2021|Fact Sheets, Local Tax & Budget Policy|

Economy Shows Improvement, but Employment Needs Time to Recover

Read the full report here: Economy Shows Improvement, but Employment Needs Time to Recover Several measures show signs of gradual improvement for New York residents as the state emerges from the covid-19 recession. One such indicator is the steep decline of new unemployment insurance claims, which had recently peaked in winter this year. Another such positive indicator is the continued gradual decrease in the statewide unemployment (U-3) rate, which peaked at 16.2 in April of 2020 as a result of pandemic-induced layoffs and business closures. The [...]

Anthony Troia2021-06-10T11:04:49-04:00June 10th, 2021|Economic Trends & Policy, Employment, Unemployment & Job Quality, Reports, Briefs and Presentations|

NY’s Excluded Worker Fund is a Model for Other States – CBPP and EPI

Two national groups put a spotlight on FPI's work with the Fund Excluded Worker Coalition that resulted in $2.1 billion toward allowing undocumented immigrants to get something like what others in New York got in unemployment benefits and stimulus payments. This was a historic victory that the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the Economic Policy Institute are encouraging other states to follow! CBPP: Whitney Tucker, Deputy Director of Research at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, pointed to the fund as a prime [...]

david2021-06-03T11:07:41-04:00May 24th, 2021|Blog, Immigration, New York State, Other States & National|

FPI’s Census 2020 Hindsight in Gotham Gazette

Shamier Settle, Policy Analyst with the Fiscal Policy Institute, wrote this article in the Gotham Gazette about the census count and what the numbers mean for New York. FPI started its census work in 2018 with this report, which estimates of how much funding community based organizations would need to conduct outreach for the census count in 2020. That same year FPI also began highlighting the importance of including investments in the census in the state budget. Through their participation on the steering committee of New York Counts 2020, [...]

Anthony Troia2021-05-19T16:07:19-04:00May 19th, 2021|Blog, Creating Vibrant Communities, FPI in the News|

New York State Fines and Fees Revenue Lacks Transparency, Obscures Economic Harms

New York State relies on fine, fee, and surcharge revenue to fund government operations- including the functions of the courts and state agencies providing criminal justice, public safety, and victim services. This funding is generated via a complex set of state statutes, including penal, vehicle and traffic, environmental conservation, judiciary, and finance laws and is spent through the General Fund and a bevy of State Special Revenue Funds. No one state government entity or agency is charged with comprehensively reporting on the imposition, collection, and [...]

Anthony Troia2021-05-12T10:03:03-04:00May 10th, 2021|Creating Vibrant Communities, Good Governance, Local Tax & Budget Policy, Must Read, Reports, Briefs and Presentations|