The Mayor’s Executive Budget Proposal
June 7, 2010. Testimony presented by James Parrott before the New York City Council Committee on Finance.
New York Shouldn’t Look to Massachusetts as a Model for Property Tax Reform
May 25, 2010. With Governor Cuomo proposing a rigid cap on property taxes based on Massachusetts' Proposition 2½, this 2010 update of a landmark report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities should be must reading for New York policymakers. This report describes the problems the cap has created in Massachusetts and explains why the impact could be even more severe in New York. Among the key lessons of the Massachusetts experience: A tax cap won't make government services cost less. Claims that caps [...]
New York City: Economic and Budget Challenges
May 20, 2010. While Wall Street may have recovered, the average New York worker is still mired in the Great Recession. New York like most states has severe budget problems and not enough Federal aid; moreover, state and local government budget cuts will harm the local economy and slow the national recovery. In this context, the Mayor's NYC budget proposal punishes workers and the poor but does not ask the well-off or Wall Street to share the burden. This presentation includes commentary on the state as [...]
Potential efficiencies in City operations
May 6, 2010. A letter sent by James Parrott to Stephen Goldsmith, the City's new deputy mayor for operations, outlining some ripe opportunities for savings and efficiencies.
Property Tax Relief: How Does a Circuit Breaker Work?
April 30, 2010. The New York State Property Tax Reform Coalition explains in plain language. Also see their circuit breaker calculator based on the Galef/Little reform bill. The April 2010 issue of Land Lines, the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy's quarterly magazine, has a six-page article devoted to circuit breakers and how they work to relieve property tax burden, including a full page sidebar on "New York's Effort to Provide Targeted Tax Relief." Read the article - Property Tax Relief: The Case for Circuit Breakers >>
New York Has the Ways and Means: How and Why Wall Street Should Give Back to Main Street
April 19, 2010. This new report details how a temporary bonus tax and other Wall Street measures could ease New York's budget crisis and fund property tax relief for the most burdened households. Sensible options for closing the state budget gap meet three goals: Support rather than undermine the needs of New York families. Minimize the negative impact of this year’s budget decisions on the fragile state economy. Require the New York financial industry - which bears responsibility for much of the negative impact on [...]
Look to Wall Street for help
April 12, 2010. An op ed by Frank Mauro, FPI's executive director, and Ron Deutsch of New Yorkers for Fiscal Fairness, Albany Times-Union.
Establishing a Fair, Adequate and Economically Sensible State-Local Tax System
April 7, 2010. This policy brief from FPI reviews specific revenue raising options that would enable New York to close its budget gap while making the overall tax system fairer and minimizing damage to the economy. The brief was released as the Better Choice Budget Campaign announced a statewide TV ad campaign to raise awareness of opportunities to raise revenues in ways that minimize damage to the state's fragile economy - including closing corporate tax loopholes and asking Wall Street to help bail out Main [...]
Testimony at the Joint Legislative Public Hearing on the 2010-2011 Executive Budget Proposal – Human Services
April 2, 2010. Testimony presented by Carolyn Boldiston, FPI's Senior Fiscal Policy Analyst. (This is a revised version of testimony originally delivered on February 10, 2010.)
The New York State Lottery: A Regressive Tax
March 29, 2010. Voluntary payments to the government are generally not thought of as taxes. But states have begun in the last 30 years to obtain significant revenue from lottery sales. Looking at induced lottery purchases as a tax, with very little direct or indirect benefit to the vast majority of purchasers, this analysis confirms conclusions in other studies that it is an extremely regressive tax. By FPI research associate Brent Kramer, published by Tax Analysts in State Tax Notes.
Raise Taxes to Balance the Budget
March 12, 2010. FPI Executive Director Frank Mauro discusses Lieutenant Governor Richard Ravitch's fiscal reform plan on Capitol Tonight, explaining why tax increases should be part of a balanced approach to closing New York State's projected budget gap. Video >>
The Ravitch Plan
March 11, 2010. James Parrott, FPI's Deputy Director and Chief Economist, was a guest on the Brian Lehrer Show today. He discussed Lieutenant Governor Richard Ravitch's plan to reform the New York State budget process and to borrow money to help solve New York State's fiscal problems. Listen >>
The Impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act on New York City
March 1, 2010. Testimony presented by James Parrott before the New York City Council General Welfare Committee. Testimony >>
Balancing the New York State Budget in an Economically Sensible Manner
March 10, 2010. New York State should balance its budget during the current economic downturn in ways that will not make economic conditions worse. The budget balancing strategies of the early 1990s should be avoided, while those of 2003 and 2009 demonstrate the benefits of more balanced approaches to budget balancing. The wisest policy choices are those that will take the least amount of demand possible out of the state economy; this brief contains a number of specific options.
Revenue-raising and cost-saving options
February 22, 2010. The Fiscal Policy Institute worked with the other members of the Better Choice Budget Campaign to develop a menu of revenue-raising and cost-saving options for consideration by the Governor and Legislature as they work to adopt a balanced budget for 2010-2011. The chart of options was distributed at a press conference today at which advocates urged the governor and legislature to make "better choices" to balance the state budget - calling for more federal aid, and for Wall Street to help Main Street. FPI, New Yorkers [...]