Tax & Budget

FPI Testimony at Senate Hearing Urges Balanced Approach to Tax Reform

September 4, 2013. In testimony before the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and the Senate Committee on Investigations and Government Operations, Frank Mauro, FPI’s Executive Director, expressed support for a thorough review of the tax system from a number of perspectives. He indicated that back in December 2011, Governor Cuomo and the legislative leaders joined in calling for a thorough review of the fairness of the New York tax system and agreed that fairness is one important basis for evaluating the workings of any tax [...]

Fiscal Policy Institute2024-12-18T12:27:28-05:00September 4th, 2013|City Budget, State Budget, Tax & Budget, Tax Policy, Testimony|

Analysis: Immigrant Status Change Could Mean Millions in Tax Revenue for NY

July 9, 2013. A news article in Newsday covers the release of the new report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy and Fiscal Policy Institute regarding immigration status change and possible tax revenue for states. David Dyssegaard Kallick, immigration research director at the Fiscal Policy Institute, said there is no better alternative than for all those immigrants to become taxpayers. "As long as we make sure we don't create a new undocumented population, legalizing the people already here is the right thing to do," [...]

Fiscal Policy Institute2024-12-18T12:27:29-05:00July 9th, 2013|FPI in the News, Tax Policy|

“Tax-Free NY” is now “Start-Up NY” – Still Bad Tax Policy, Still Bad Economic Development Policy

July 9, 2013. Despite the concerns raised by economists across the political spectrum, a somewhat revised version (A. 8113 and S. 5903) of Governor Cuomo’s “Tax-Free New York” proposal was introduced on June 20, 2013, passed by both houses of the Legislature on June 21, 2013, and signed into law by the Governor on June 24, 2013. The Fiscal Policy Institute’s June 11, 2013 brief on the original proposal concluded that that it was bad tax policy and bad economic development policy. Now recast at [...]

Fiscal Policy Institute2024-12-18T12:27:29-05:00July 9th, 2013|Economic Trends & Policy, Must Read, Reports, Briefs and Presentations, Tax & Budget, Tax Policy|

Beyond Balance: Forward-Looking Budget Priorities for New York City

July 9, 2013. All three of New York City’s citywide elected offices will have new faces in 2014. Mayor Michael Bloomberg cannot run for re-election because of the city’s term limits law, while Public Advocate Bill de Blasio and Comptroller John Liu are both running for Mayor rather than seeking re-election to their current offices. As voters consider a large field of mayoral candidates, as well as contenders for the other two citywide offices, the five borough presidencies and the 51 seats in the City [...]

Fiscal Policy Institute2024-12-18T12:27:30-05:00July 9th, 2013|Economic Trends & Policy, Reports, Briefs and Presentations, State Budget, Tax & Budget, Tax Policy|

Groups Say Tax Free-NY is Bad Economic Development Policy, Bad Tax Policy and Bad for New York.

June 11, 2013. Frank Mauro of the Fiscal Policy Institute joined with community, student and labor groups at a press conference in the Legislative Office Building in Albany to urge the Legislature to reject the Governor's ill-conceived Tax-Free NY proposal. The press conference was organized by Ron Deutsch, the executive director of New Yorkers for Fiscal Fairness. Mauro distributed FPI’s new report on the Tax-Free NY proposal at the press conference which was covered by a number of news outlets including the (Albany) Times Union, [...]

Fiscal Policy Institute2024-12-18T12:27:52-05:00June 11th, 2013|Press Releases, Tax & Budget, Tax Policy|

Tax-Free New York – Bad Tax Policy, Bad Economic Development Policy

June 11, 2013. This brief concludes that Tax-Free New York is bad tax policy and bad economic development policy. From a tax policy perspective, the Tax-Free NY proposal is inconsistent with the two long-established pillars of tax fairness—horizontal equity and vertical equity. In addition, New York State's past experience with geographically-targeted business tax incentives should raise huge red flags regarding the efficacy of the proposal as an economic development strategy. Besides being diametrically opposed to the principles of tax fairness, the idea of exempting the [...]

Fiscal Policy Institute2024-12-18T12:27:52-05:00June 11th, 2013|Economic Trends & Policy, Must Read, Reports, Briefs and Presentations, Tax & Budget, Tax Policy|

Walmart and other large, low-wage employers will benefit financially from New York’s new Minimum Wage Reimbursement Credit.

April 5, 2013. Unless disclosure requirements are clarified, we’ll probably never know exactly how much Walmart and other large, low-wage employers receive in government subsidies under New York’s new Minimum Wage Reimbursement Credit (MWRC). But based on the best data available, we estimate that Walmart is likely to receive MWRC subsidies of between $53 million and $85 million over the next five years. New York’s new MWRC will provide employers a tax credit for the hours worked by students between the ages of 16 and [...]

Fiscal Policy Institute2024-12-18T12:27:54-05:00April 5th, 2013|Blog, Economic Trends & Policy, Labor Market & Workforce, Must Read, Tax & Budget, Tax Policy|

The Many Problems with New York’s Proposed Minimum Wage Reimbursement Credit

March 25, 2013. This was to have been the year New York caught up with the 19 other states and the District of Columbia with a minimum wage above the $7.25 an hour federal level. Minimum wage legislation that passed the Assembly also would have indexed the minimum wage in future years—as 10 other states do—so that inflation would not steadily erode its purchasing power. However, the agreement reached over the weekend in Albany falls far short. It increases the minimum wage to $8.00 an [...]

Fiscal Policy Institute2024-12-18T12:27:55-05:00March 25th, 2013|Blog, Economic Trends & Policy, Labor Market & Workforce, Tax & Budget, Tax Policy|

Briefing on Mayor Bloomberg’s Preliminary FY 2014 NYC Budget, and a Forward-Looking Budget Agenda

March 5, 2013. Part I of the budget briefing on Mayor Bloomberg’s Preliminary FY 2014 NYC Budget makes the following points: Unemployment remains very high in this historically weak “recovery.” NYC job growth better than the U.S., but considerable hardships persist. NYC tax revenues have rebounded, but federal and state aid share declined. State budget choices and pressures continue to squeeze NYC. City-funded expenditures projected to increase 3.4% in FY 2014, with increases in debt service and health insurance. Most agency budgets are cut. Over [...]

Fiscal Policy Institute2024-12-18T12:27:57-05:00March 5th, 2013|Economic Outlook, Economic Trends & Policy, Reports, Briefs and Presentations, State Budget, Tax Policy|

Closing the window of opportunity: the impact of the Governor’s proposed 2013-14 New York State budget on New York City’s women, youth and families

February 16, 2013. When viewed with a gender lens, the Governor’s 2013-2014 budget impacts New York City’s low-income women and their families in many ways, from decreased resources for low-income women seeking to get a foothold in the job market, to reduced funding for a wide range of essential support services, including access to child care. These proposed budget cuts, coupled with a weak recovery and sharp increases in poverty levels in NYC, further destabilize those most in need. Over the last three years, poverty [...]

Fiscal Policy Institute2024-12-18T12:27:57-05:00February 16th, 2013|Reports, Briefs and Presentations, State Budget, Tax & Budget|

Testimony at the Joint Legislative Public Hearing on the 2013-2014 Executive Budget – Taxes

February 12, 2013. In this testimony, Frank Mauro made the following six points: New York State should not cut taxes while the resources provided for education and other essential services are being hit with “Gap Elimination Adjustments” and other austerity measures. New York State should not provide tax subsidies for companies that outsource jobs or otherwise reduce employment in the state. Economic development tax breaks should only go to businesses that create and maintain jobs in the state. Loopholes and tax breaks that allow large, [...]

Fiscal Policy Institute2024-12-18T12:27:58-05:00February 12th, 2013|State Budget, Tax & Budget, Tax Policy, Testimony|

FPI on New York’s 2013-14 State Budget

February 12, 2013. We have updated the Economic and Fiscal Outlook 2013-2014 briefing book that was originally released at FPI’s 23rd annual budget briefing on January 29, and submitted testimony by Carolyn Boldiston on the implications for Human Services of the Governor’s 2013-2014 Executive Budget and testimony by Frank Mauro on Tax Issues related to the Legislature’s consideration of the Executive Budget. We have also completed an analysis, with the New York Women's Foundation, of the impact of the Governor's budget on women, children and [...]

Fiscal Policy Institute2024-12-18T12:27:58-05:00February 12th, 2013|Reports, Briefs and Presentations, Social Policy, State Budget, Tax & Budget, Tax Policy, Testimony|