New York's public school system, built in the nineteenth century, entitles New Yorkers aged five to twenty-one to free education. More recently, policymakers, including Governor Hochul and Mayor-elect Mamdani, have committed to finishing the project by extending universal education and care to children under the age of five.
The single most decisive factor in whether New York City ends up with a truly universal childcare system is whether that system is supported by sustainable, recurring revenue that grows with the program over time.
The OBBBA will save New York taxpayers who earn $1 million in annual income a collective $12 billion in federal taxes each year. This is equivalent to an annual average tax cut of $129,600 per millionaire taxpayer, 2.7 percent of their total income.
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.
The new federal budget will cost New York State $10 billion annually. The State will have to step in.
FPI Director Nathan Gusdorf presented a briefing on July 17 about how state tax policy can respond to the federal funding cuts in the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act".
FPI presented a briefing on the New York State budget for fiscal year 2026.
Thursday Briefing, April 17 https://youtu.be/AOGhN5R9myw
Unemployment insurance stabilizes the state economy during economic downturns, but New York’s UI system has been insolvent for decades and UI benefits are inadequate to keep workers out of poverty.
Lawmakers must look to progressive revenue sources for MTA funding
Download the Memo Download the Report The Fiscal Policy Institute today released two publications on how to fix New York State's insolvent unemployment insurance system: a memo recommending tax changes, and a short report detailing the UI system’s chronic underfunding and low benefit level. Unemployment insurance (UI), which provides temporary income to laid-off workers, is one of the State’s most important economic stabilization policies. Unemployment can both throw workers into poverty and exacerbate recessions by [...]
The Superfund is a fiscally sound mechanism for upgrading our statewide infrastructure in the face of urgent climate challenges, and FPI commends the governor and legislature for successfully working together to enact it.
Last month, both the Senate and Assembly of the New York State legislature passed the Climate Change Superfund Act (S.02129). The Act, first introduced during the FY 2022 budget cycle, would require the largest fossil fuel companies to pay a total of $75 billion — to be paid over 25 years in $3 billion annual increments — to New York State.
Governor Hochul’s directive to the MTA to 'indefinitely pause' planned congestion pricing for New York City, and her proposed alternative revenue sources, are ill-advised tax and economic policy.
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.