The following are excerpts of an article appearing in today’s NY Times:
Warning to rich New Yorkers: The tax man might be digging deeper into your pockets in the years ahead.
There is a growing sense in the capital that legislators are likely to turn to an income tax increase on the wealthiest New Yorkers to help close the state’s $15 billion deficit, now that Democrats control the Senate, the Assembly and the governor’s office.
The Assembly, where Democrats have an overwhelming majority, has long supported increasing taxes on the wealthy, and Sheldon Silver, the Assembly speaker, reiterated this month that there continued to be strong backing for the measure among his colleagues.
Gov. David A. Paterson, a Democrat, did not propose any income tax increases in his budget proposal, but acknowledged in last month that “taxing the wealthy is probably going to be part of the solution if the deficit gets any worse, and all indications are that it probably will.”
That could leave the matter in the hands of the Senate, where Democrats won a narrow majority in November. Senator Eric T. Schneiderman, a Manhattan Democrat, said that he planned to introduce a bill in the coming weeks that would increase taxes on the rich, and that he expected his colleagues to have an active debate about the issue.
Malcolm A. Smith, the new Senate majority leader, said he was not enthusiastic about the idea but looked forward to a vigorous debate in his caucus.
There is considerable pressure on lawmakers to act, and several powerful interest groups in Albany are pushing for a tax increase for the wealthy as a way to forestall steep budget cuts.
Democrats would have to largely unite behind the proposal, because there are probably not many Republicans who would support a budget with income tax increases. Pending the outcome of a contested Queens race, Democrats are expected to have a 32-30 majority in the Senate.
Several measures that would impose higher taxes have been discussed, so it is not clear which path Democratic lawmakers will pursue. The measure previously talked about in the Assembly called for an increase of nearly one percentage point on anyone who earns $1 million or more annually. But other plans echo President Obama’s campaign call for increased taxes on families earning $250,000 or more.
Mr. Silver said in a recent interview, “The extent of the tax is to be determined, but clearly the public has indicated they support a millionaires’ tax, the Assembly has indicated they support it.”
(LINK to NY Times)
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8 Responses
We should wake up and leave New York! The state drains our hard-earned income and will continue to do so, and what do we get for it in return? We could raise our children in a more Torahdik environment and with a higher quality of life outside of New York, and certainly outside of New York City…. communities in Georgia, Texas, Arizona, etc, would benefit from an influx of bnei Torah and other yidden from New York who will find more jobs, bigger houses, a generally less expensive lifestyle, warmer weather, and communities where ehrlichkeit is valued and the culture is not as preoccupied with gashmius…
The richest taxpayers in New York had jobs tied to Wall Street. They aren’t so rich anymore. As it is, many of them find a way to move their business to states with lower taxes. Perhaps cutting the state budget by reducing salaries and services might lead to more private sector jobs.
#1: you’re right that when you live “out of town” you can bring up your family in an environment with much less gashmius which is why we live out of town. In general also the people display more of a finekeit and aidelkeit and that overall people have better midos. however you have to realize what you are giving up by liveing out of town. we do pay lower taxes than in NY but we also get alot less. there is alot of mesiras nefesh involved with living out of town. examples: here in Baltimore we have to pay out of pocket for bussing to school and not all schools offer it. most can’t afford it so we are doing carpools. with 10 kids and 3-4 different schools, each with 3 dismissal times it’s carpool almost every morning and afternoon, sometimes 2-3 per afternoon. school lunches are also out of pocket and again not every school offers it so 10 kids=making 10 lunches per day!
most people have a big adjustment to out of town also because you just can’t buy here what you can in NY (lack of gashmius)but it’s not easy when you really need furniture, clothing etc. and have to shlep to NY. after a while you get used to living with less because everyone else is but it takes time.
you have higher taxes in NY but you get so much more. its a trade-off so appreciate what you get and the next time NYers want to complain because of those sunday carpools, think of us out of town and you’ll appreciate what you get! living out of town is a wonderful thing and the dividends of having fine, ehrliche children with beatiful midos will pay off but it’s not the easy life!
On the other hand, only people making $1 million annually are being considered for a tax increase, or at least $250,000. How many “frume, feine, erliche bnei Toirah” in New York State fit into this financial category?
#4, if those figures are gross income, I would hope that many fit into the $250 bracket. But anyway, you should know from following political processes that the bar tends to move after the current level becomes viewed with acceptance. I wouldn’t be at all surprised to find the $250 threshhold turn in to a $100K starting point and grading up from there.
How far do you think $250K goes? For starters, half of it already goes to fed & state income taxes and Social Security & Medicare. Then you’ve got exorbitant housing prices, including sky-high property taxes. (NYC houses are more but property taxes less than, say, Monsey. It’s a wash.) Then pay tuition – say $8K – $15K per kid. Try buying some food and maybe clothes at Target. Forget about eating out or going on vacation. The average frum family lives a very expensive lifestyle and I sure hope we’ve got plenty of “frume, feine, erliche bnei Toirah” families making over $250K and even over a million!
> I would hope that many fit into the $250 bracket.
> I sure hope we’ve got plenty of “frume, feine, erliche bnei Toirah” families making over $250K and even over a million!
The two of you live in fantasy worlds. Sure, there are a “fair number” of doctors, lawyers, executives, and business owners who make those numbers, but even in those categories, many make less. For the “stam worker,” this isn’t an issue at all, and that’s probably 95% or better of (even) our population.
I am very sorry to hear that my hopes are so ridiculous. $250 is not that much anymore, as #6 pointed out. Between 2 jobs and renting out the basement, I would have thought that many people do bring in that much.