Tax & Budget

Reforming the New York Tax Code

December 5, 2011. Consistent with Governor Cuomo's call for a tax system that is fairer and more affordable while helping to put more New Yorkers back to work, this report presents a "top 1%" progressive income tax plan. The plan raises less revenue than the current "millionaires tax," but enough revenue to avoid job-killing budget cuts, make job-creating investments, and provide middle class tax relief. The proposed progressive bracket structure would apply to taxpayers with incomes above $665,000, the estimated threshold for the top one [...]

Fiscal Policy Institute2024-12-18T12:28:22-05:00December 5th, 2011|Reports, Briefs and Presentations, State Budget, Tax & Budget, Tax Policy|

Fairer taxes, more jobs: Gov. Cuomo needs to look out for the unemployed

December 4, 2011. An op ed by James Parrott and Frank Mauro, New York Daily News. New York is in a state of inequality. But we can balance the budget, provide real middle class tax relief and a boost to job creation, all through sensible income tax reform.

Fiscal Policy Institute2024-12-18T12:28:22-05:00December 4th, 2011|Letters, State Budget, Tax & Budget, Tax Policy|

New York’s Unemployment Crisis and Income Polarization: Looking to State Policy for Solutions

December 2, 2011. A presentation by James Parrott at the Center for Working Families' 2011 NYS policy conference: Good Ideas in Hard and Exciting Times: Policies for New York's 99%. The last two slides show the overall regressivity of the New York State and New York City tax systems.

Fiscal Policy Institute2024-12-18T12:28:22-05:00December 2nd, 2011|Economic Trends & Policy, Labor Market & Workforce, Reports, Briefs and Presentations, Tax Policy|

New group calls for boosting New York mass transit manufacturing

October 11, 2011. Enhanced MTA investments could create good jobs and bolster New York's recovery. While unemployment news remains bleak across the state and country, a recently released white paper, Building New York's Future: Creating Jobs and Business Opportunities Through Mass Transit Investments, points to the benefits of a broad transit manufacturing strategy. A new group - Building New York's Future - has formed with the mission of developing and implementing a mass-transit related economic development strategy, building political commitment to the strategy across the [...]

Fiscal Policy Institute2024-12-18T12:28:23-05:00October 11th, 2011|Economic Trends & Policy, Press Releases, State Budget, Tax & Budget|

Building New York’s Future: Creating Jobs and Business Opportunities Through Mass Transit Investments

September 27, 2011. This white paper finds that as New York comes out of the most severe economic downturn since the Great Depression, the state can and should pursue a mass transit-related manufacturing strategy, positioning itself as a leader in sustainable transportation while creating good, middle class jobs for New Yorkers. Working toward broad political commitment and securing adequate funding for New York's transit authorities' capital and operating budgets, and for national mass transit infrastructure, are necessary complements.

Fiscal Policy Institute2024-12-18T12:28:24-05:00September 27th, 2011|Economic Trends & Policy, Reports, Briefs and Presentations, State Budget, Tax & Budget|

Budget Busters

September 18, 2011. A letter by James Parrott, New York Post.

Fiscal Policy Institute2024-12-18T12:28:24-05:00September 18th, 2011|Letters, State Budget, Tax & Budget, Tax Policy|

Can Obama’s Plan Erase New York’s Jobs Deficit?

September 14, 2011. An article by James Parrott, FPI's deputy director and chief economist, who writes regularly for Gotham Gazette's Economy section. Article >>

Fiscal Policy Institute2024-12-18T12:28:24-05:00September 14th, 2011|Economic Outlook, Economic Trends & Policy, Letters, Tax & Budget|

Governor Cuomo’s Fiscal Policies: How Will New York’s Economy Be Affected?

June 24, 2011. Governor Cuomo won a great political victory in getting his 2011-2012 budget adopted on time and with very few changes. And it now looks like the Legislature will be enacting - again with very few changes - the very tight cap on property tax levies that the Governor spelled out during his 2010 campaign. This brief examines how the New York economy fared, compared to other states, under the more balanced fiscal policies of recent years. But dramatic cuts in spending can [...]

Fiscal Policy Institute2025-04-04T14:27:29-04:00June 24th, 2011|City Budget, Economic Outlook, Economic Trends & Policy, Reports, Briefs and Presentations, State Budget, Tax & Budget, Tax Policy|

Proposed New York property tax cap is much more restrictive than the Massachusetts cap after which it is supposedly modeled

June 22, 2011. No lawmaker or taxpayer should be one bit reassured by the Massachusetts experience with a tax cap. New analysis from FPI's Frank Mauro shows what a New York-style tax cap would mean if it had been in effect in Massachusetts over the last decades. Property tax revenues would be less than half what they are today, with devastating implications for the entire array of locally-funded public services. Read report >>

Fiscal Policy Institute2025-04-04T14:27:30-04:00June 22nd, 2011|City Budget, Reports, Briefs and Presentations, Tax & Budget|

Budget Cuts Could Strangle Sputtering Recovery

June 20, 2011. An article by James Parrott, FPI's deputy director and chief economist, who writes regularly for Gotham Gazette's Economy section.

Fiscal Policy Institute2024-12-18T12:28:44-05:00June 20th, 2011|Economic Outlook, Economic Trends & Policy, Letters, State Budget, Tax & Budget|

Proposed Cap Does Not Address New York’s Property Tax “Problem.”

June 15, 2011. A deeper look at the data used to support the proposed cap shows that New York's real tax problem is that hundreds of thousands of low, moderate and middle income families are already paying inordinate shares of their income in property taxes on their primary residences. Only a middle-class Circuit Breaker can provide effective relief for these families in a targeted and cost-efficient manner. Analysis >> and Omnibus Consortium release >>

Fiscal Policy Institute2025-04-04T14:27:30-04:00June 15th, 2011|City Budget, Reports, Briefs and Presentations, Tax & Budget|

Incorrect diagnosis of New York’s property tax “problem” will lead to a remedy that is likely to do more harm than good

June 10, 2011. Massachusetts' experience with Proposition 2½ does not support the claim that a cap of the type proposed by Governor Cuomo is workable let alone desirable. If a hard cap of the lesser of 2 percent or the rate of inflation, with no overrides, had been in effect in Massachusetts since 1981-82, that state's property tax revenue would be about 60 percent less than it currently is. The Governor's proposed cap would undermine the quality of the entire array of locally funded public [...]

Fiscal Policy Institute2025-04-04T14:27:30-04:00June 10th, 2011|City Budget, Reports, Briefs and Presentations, Tax & Budget|

Testimony at the New York City Council Committee on Finance Hearing on the FY 2012 Executive Budget

June 6, 2011. FPI's James A. Parrott delivered testimony detailing the following points: Against the backdrop of an outlook for a very gradual and drawn-out recovery during which unemployment and economic adversity remain elevated, the Mayor's Executive Budget proposal contains several harmful budget cuts that will curtail vital services in many critical areas. The City needs a more balanced approach to closing large budget gaps; this approach should reduce outlays on contracting out and find ways to enhance revenues. Testimony >>

Fiscal Policy Institute2025-04-04T14:27:30-04:00June 6th, 2011|State Budget, Tax & Budget, Tax Policy, Testimony|

New York City Revenue and Cost Savings Options

May 23, 2011. This one-pager makes the case that NYC should reform its Personal Income Tax (PIT) structure to add brackets to the top and to take low-income households off the income tax rolls. Four more revenue options and three cost-cutting measures are also proposed.

Fiscal Policy Institute2024-12-18T12:28:45-05:00May 23rd, 2011|Reports, Briefs and Presentations, Tax & Budget, Tax Policy|