There's a better way than slashing funding for vital public services
(The link contains a sample email and will let you know who your Legislators are - all you have to do is put your name and address in)
Albany’s response to New York’s $6.1 billion deficit: cut critical funding for the people who need it.
These cuts will hurt CWA health care workers, SUNY teaching assistants and NYC workers directly. And they threaten to raise all of our property taxes as well if the state shifts costs onto towns and counties.
New York is the most unequal state in the country. The richest 1% have an average income of $2.2 million—44 times higher than the average for the other 99%. The ultra-rich can afford to pay more!
MILLIONAIRE’S TAX The ultra-millionaire’s tax, as proposed in the 2019 Assembly one-house budget, would create a higher income tax bracket for incomes above $5 million, $10 million and the top bracket of 10.32 percent for those with an income of over $100 million per year. The proposed top bracket would still be below the current tax rate in both New Jersey (10.75 percent) and California (13.3 percent). It is estimated that these new income tax brackets, which would affect 4 percent of New York’s residents, would generate upwards of $2.2 billion.
BILLIONAIRE WEALTH TAX A wealth tax on billionaires would create a yearly assessment on the speculative wealth of billionaires, which includes unrealized capital gains. A wealth tax on billionaires is projected to generate $10 billion or more per year.
PIED-A-TERRE TAX (S.44 / A.4540) The pied-à-terre tax would add roughly $650 million per year to state coffers. This tax would be an assessment on luxury, non-primary residences in New York City with an assessed value of over $5 million. It is estimated that a mere 2 percent of the city’s housing stock would qualify for the pied-à-terre tax.
CORPORATE STOCK BUYBACK TAX (S.7629 / A.9748) This bill would raise more than $3 billion annually by taxing corporate stock buybacks at the rate of 0.5 percent. Corporations often buy back their own stock in an effort to inflate its value, enriching shareholders and executives whose compensation is tied to share value rather than productively investing profits in their workforce.
We're asking all of our elected representatives to commit to fighting for these common sense tax reforms on the ultra-rich instead of slashing critical funding for New York's working families, because the 1% can afford to pay their fair share!