Policy & Research

This Year’s Housing Debate

Housing has again become a key area of negotiations in the current budget cycle. This year’s executive budget laid out a far narrower plan to address New York’s housing affordability crisis than last year’s budget proposal. Meanwhile, the Senate brought forward a new set of housing policy recommendations in its one-house budget proposal, attempting to comprehensively address the housing supply and affordability issues that currently plague the state. But what are these proposals — and are they enough to address New York’s housing crisis?

Nathan Gusdorf2024-04-18T13:55:01-04:00March 26th, 2024|Featured on Home, Housing, Policy & Research, State Budget, Tax & Budget|

The Medicaid MCO Tax Strategy

The legislative one-house budgets come out firmly for higher Medicaid spending, restoring most of the governor’s cuts and offering significant rate increases. But how will they pay for it? The Senate and Assembly budget memos propose to raise $4 billion a year through an obscure mechanism: A tax on Medicaid managed care plans, the private insurance companies which administer most of the state’s Medicaid program.

Nathan Gusdorf2024-04-18T13:55:03-04:00March 19th, 2024|Featured on Home, Healthcare, State Budget, Tax Policy|

Fiscal Year 2025 Revenue Likely to Exceed State Projections by At Least $4 Billion

The DOB’s assumed growth rates for State revenue are very low by historical standards and are out of sync with most forecasts of U.S. economic growth over coming years. FPI expects State revenue growth in FY25 will likely exceed current forecasts by at least $4 billion.

Monica Klein2024-03-28T23:38:10-04:00March 15th, 2024|Featured on Home, Must Read, Reports, Briefs and Presentations, State Budget, Tax Policy|

What to Look for in the One House Budgets

The New York State Senate and Assembly will soon release their proposals for the fiscal year 2025 budget. Following last week’s revenue consensus, the legislature will be able to propose $1.3 billion more in spending than the executive budget. This additional revenue will allow the legislature to restore many of the budget cuts proposed by the executive budget, especially to school aid and home care. The legislature can, however, go beyond restoring the proposed cuts and put forward deeper investments in public services that address New York’s affordability crisis. These investments will require raising additional revenue.

Nathan Gusdorf2024-03-11T11:17:34-04:00March 11th, 2024|Blog, Featured on Home, Policy & Research, Reports, Briefs and Presentations, State Budget|

Tax Policy Brief: Fiscal Stability and Progressivity in the Personal Income Tax

New York State often faces calls for higher tax revenue, whether due to concerns over revenue shortfalls or a desire to increase public spending. This brief assesses the soundness of raising revenue through the Personal Income Tax, examining the fiscal stability of such revenue, fundamental fairness considerations, and responses to common arguments against raising the state income tax.

Nathan Gusdorf2024-03-28T20:58:23-04:00March 8th, 2024|Must Read, Policy & Research, Tax & Budget, Tax Policy|

Consensus Economic and Revenue Forecast: Finding Quarters in the Couch Cushions

Over the past five budget cycles, the upward revisions to revenue established at the Economic and Revenue Consensus meeting has ranged from 0.6 percent to 1.9 percent of annual state operating funds. While these numbers may seem small in magnitude, the dollar amounts are significant when compared to current cost saving measures proposed in the fiscal year 2025 executive budget. Annualized revenue adjustments average $972 million over the past 6 budget cycles (excluding 2020) compared to a proposed $454 million in school aid cuts and $600 million in cuts to the homecare program CDPAP in this year’s executive budget.

Monica Klein2024-04-17T13:47:00-04:00March 4th, 2024|Blog, Reports, Briefs and Presentations, State Budget, Tax & Budget|

Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Briefing Book

ALBANY, NY | February 13, 2024 The Fiscal Policy Institute released its annual briefing on the Governor's executive budget. The briefing analyzes state fiscal and economic trends as well as major policy initiatives in the executive budget. Download the Book

Anthony Troia2024-02-22T12:43:06-05:00February 13th, 2024|Featured on Home, Policy & Research, State Budget|

FPI: Mayor’s Continued Budget Cuts Are Unwarranted and Fiscally Irresponsible

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 16, 2024 Media Contact: press@fiscalpolicy.org June Cash Receipts Continue to Stabilize Following April Volatility "Improving tax receipts and new State aid, combined with lower asylum seeker costs and the customary use of annual reserves, are more than sufficient to balance next year’s budget" ALBANY, NY | January 16, 2024 — In response to the New York City Preliminary Budget for Fiscal Year 2025, Fiscal Policy Institute Director Nathan Gusdorf released [...]

Anthony Troia2024-01-30T16:06:54-05:00January 16th, 2024|City Budget, Featured on Home, FPI in the News, Press Releases|

FPI: Modest Budget Lacks Deep Investments Needed to Reverse Affordability Crisis & Stem Population Loss

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 16, 2024 Media Contact: press@fiscalpolicy.org June Cash Receipts Continue to Stabilize Following April Volatility "Given recent inflation and economic growth, state spending is shrinking slightly relative to the size of the overall state economy" ALBANY, NY | In response to the New York State Executive Budget for Fiscal Year 2025, Fiscal Policy Institute Director Nathan Gusdorf released the following statement: “After months of overly pessimistic revenue projections, the Executive Budget [...]

Anthony Troia2024-01-16T13:20:50-05:00January 16th, 2024|FPI in the News, Press Releases, State Budget|

New: Expiring Tax Rates to Drive Down Expected Fiscal Year 2028 Revenue

By Andrew Perry, Senior Policy Analyst January 2024 Approximately $2.4 Billion of FY28 budget gap will be due to the Personal Income Tax and Corporate Franchise Tax surcharge expirations. In the fiscal year 2022 budget, New York enacted temporary increases to the personal income tax (PIT) and corporate franchise tax (CFT) rates. PIT rates were raised for tax filers with more than $1 million in annual income, and new brackets were created for filers with incomes over $5 million [...]

Anthony Troia2024-01-16T08:22:12-05:00January 16th, 2024|Fact Sheets, Featured on Home, Must Read, State Budget|

State Economic Update: Economy Recovers While Inequality Rises

By Emily Eisner, PhD, Economist January 11, 2024 View Full Economic Update Overview New York State is home to one of the largest, most thriving economies in the world; as of 2022, New York’s gross domestic product was over $2 trillion, rivaling the entire economy of Canada and larger than the economies of Australia and South Korea. Despite New York’s aggregate economic strength, New York faces real economic challenges, including a decrease in total employment, climbing poverty rates, and [...]

Anthony Troia2024-02-20T19:08:48-05:00January 15th, 2024|Blog, Economic Outlook|

FPI on State of the State: NY’s Long-term Economic Competitiveness Depends on Deepening Investments that Sustain Workforce

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 9, 2024 Media Contact: press@fiscalpolicy.org June Cash Receipts Continue to Stabilize Following April Volatility New York’s current fiscal indicators are stable & show State could significantly increase public investment Current $4.3 billion FY25 budget gap falls within routine range that resolve without major policy intervention ALBANY, NY | In response to Governor Hochul's State of the State, Fiscal Policy Institute Director Nathan Gusdorf released the following [...]

Anthony Troia2024-01-09T14:20:27-05:00January 9th, 2024|Press Releases, State Budget|

Update: FY25 State Budget Gap Reflects Stable Fiscal Condition, Not Crisis

January 9, 2024 Toplines The November financial plan made significant revisions to the FY25 budget gap — shrinking the gap from $9.1 billion to $4.3 billion, resulting in more routine gaps. The current FY25 budget gap of $4.3 billion is a moderate, not extreme, budget gap. Moderate outyear budget gaps are generally the result of conservative revenue estimates intended to ensure fiscal stability. Conservative budget forecasting is a sound fiscal practice that protects against economic downturns — not a [...]

Anthony Troia2024-04-18T13:55:43-04:00January 9th, 2024|Fact Sheets, State Budget, Tax & Budget|

Latest Census Data, Combined with FPI Analysis, Reveal New York Losing Working and Middle Class

June Cash Receipts Continue to Stabilize Following April Volatility “In light of population loss, State should make deep investments in the services and programs that keep New Yorkers here” FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 19, 2023Media Contact: press@fiscalpolicy.org ALBANY, NY | In response to the U.S. Census Bureau’s release of the Vintage 2023 Population Estimates today, Fiscal Policy Institute Senior Policy Analyst Andrew Perry released the following statement: "The latest Census data should serve as a red flag [...]

Anthony Troia2024-04-08T13:41:23-04:00December 19th, 2023|Migration, Press Releases|

November State Receipts Exceed Projections for Sixth Month Straight

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 19, 2023 Media Contact: press@fiscalpolicy.org June Cash Receipts Continue to Stabilize Following April Volatility November receipts 10.7% above latest projections and 9% above November 2022 receipts ALBANY, NY | The State Comptroller released its November Cash Report Friday, showing that November receipts came in over projections and over November 2022 receipts: November 2023 receipts: $7.59 billion November 2023 projections: Enacted (June): $7.06 billion Mid-Year Update (October): $6.86 billion November 2022 receipts: [...]

Anthony Troia2023-12-19T09:26:12-05:00December 19th, 2023|Financial Plans & Cash Reports, Press Releases|