Tax & Budget

Mayor de Blasio Can Make Lasting Change with Nonprofit Living Wages and Career Opportunities

December 16, 2014. In recent years, there have been increased conversations at both the City and State level to address growing wage inequality through the provision of a living wage. However, one important segment of the workforce historically has been left out of these conversations-- nonprofit employees. This op-ed by Jennifer Jones-Austin, CEO/Executive Director, Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies and James Parrott, Deputy Director and Chief Economist, Fiscal Policy Institute describes how the Social Services Career Ladder project will address this wage inequality.

2024-12-18T12:27:22-05:00December 16th, 2014|Economic Trends & Policy, Labor Market & Workforce, Letters, State Budget, Tax & Budget|
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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 [...]

2024-12-18T12:27:23-05:00November 17th, 2014|Press Releases, Tax & Budget|
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FPI proposes a tax on the most expensive NYC pied-à-terre residential units

September 22, 2014. By James Parrott, FPI Deputy Director and Chief Economist. Introduction In the context of the continued global concentration of income and wealth, a growing number of ultra-luxury residences in New York City are being bought by people who are not full-time city residents. For many such owners, a Manhattan pied-à-terre is one among several residences they own around the world for occasional use. Some owners see it as an investment, or simply as a place to park a portion of their substantial [...]

2024-12-18T12:27:24-05:00September 22nd, 2014|Blog, Tax & Budget, Tax Policy|
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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 [...]

2024-12-18T12:27:24-05:00June 9th, 2014|Press Releases, Tax & Budget, Tax Policy|
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NYS Can Help Low-income Working Families with Children by Increasing its Earned Income Tax Credit

May 20, 2014. It comes as no surprise to working families that New York State’s tax system is fundamentally unfair. Low- and middle-income workers pay, on average, a much higher share of their income in state and local taxes than the highest income earners. According to analysis by the Washington, D.C.-based Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the 40% of New York’s tax filers with the lowest incomes pay at least 10% of their income in state and local taxes and the 20% of households [...]

2024-12-18T12:27:25-05:00May 20th, 2014|Social Policy, Tax & Budget, Tax Policy|
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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 [...]

2024-12-18T12:27:25-05:00May 12th, 2014|Blog, Press Releases, State Budget, Tax & Budget|
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Another View on Mayor de Blasio’s FY 2015 New York City Executive Budget

May 9, 2014. Understandably, much of the commentary on Mayor de Blasio’s FY 2015 Executive Budget has dealt with the financial impact of the recent UFT contract if applied across the entire 350,000-person unionized city workforce.  It is, afterall, by far the most significant labor deal in City history, potentially affecting the entire workforce for 7 years, and 150,000 of those workers for an additional two years going back to 2009 and 2010. Some observers can’t quite grasp that Bill de Blasio pulled that off, [...]

2024-12-18T12:27:25-05:00May 9th, 2014|Blog, State Budget, Tax & Budget|
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The Significance of the TWU and UFT Labor Contracts

May 7, 2014. This commentary by FPI’s James Parrott on the new New York City labor contracts was requested by CUNY’s Joseph S. Murphy Institute and appears on their new blog. For the first time in nearly five years, major labor agreements were recently reached covering public sector workers in New York City. On April 17, Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 100 concluded a new 5-year contract dating from January 2012 covering 34,000 workers at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), most of whom work for [...]

2024-12-18T12:27:25-05:00May 7th, 2014|Blog, State Budget|
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Parrott-Brecher Debate on NYC Municipal Contracts

April 25, 2014. Negotiations are underway to settle New York City municipal contracts, almost all of which have been expired for four or more years. Pattern bargaining has long been the norm in the City, but about one-third of the City’s 300,000 unionized workers, including teachers and nurses, never received raises from the last round. FPI’s James Parrott engaged in a spirited on-line debate discussing the topic “What can the City Afford?” during the week of April 21 with Charles Brecher of the Citizens Budget [...]

2024-12-18T12:27:25-05:00April 25th, 2014|Reports, Briefs and Presentations, State Budget, Tax & Budget|
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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 [...]

2024-12-18T12:27:25-05:00April 14th, 2014|Press Releases, Reports, Briefs and Presentations, Tax & Budget, Tax Policy|
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New York State Economic and Fiscal Outlook 2014-2015

February 4, 2014. In its 24th annual New York State budget briefing, the Fiscal Policy Institute reviews the major spending and tax reduction proposals contained in Governor Andrew Cuomo’s 2014-15 Executive Budget. FPI’s briefing provides a critical assessment of four fundamental assumptions that shape the proposed budget and state fiscal projections for the following three years. These assumptions deal with the preferred size of New York government, the optimal growth rate of state spending, the potential for budget savings related to government consolidation, and the [...]

2024-12-18T12:27:25-05:00April 11th, 2014|City Budget, Press Releases, Reports, Briefs and Presentations, State Budget, Tax & Budget, Tax Policy|
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Testimony: NYC School Bus Industry in the Aftermath of the Removal of Employee Protection Provisions from Contracts

March 27, 2014. James Parrott testified at a New York City Council oversight hearing looking at the effects of removing job security protections from the City school bus contracts. The previous administration set in motion a contract re-bidding process that stripped school bus drivers, matrons and mechanics of job security protections. That action has already led to the bankruptcy of a large school bus company in the middle of the school year and threatens to further unsettle the industry on which the City relies to [...]

2024-12-18T12:27:26-05:00March 27th, 2014|State Budget, Tax & Budget, Testimony|
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