Share Our Wealth

Taxing the Ultra-Wealthy & Making Corporations Pay their Fair Share! (AM Solages/Sen Gounardes)

THE PROBLEM 

  • New York is the wealthiest city in the US, and yet our essential programs and services are critically underfunded.
  • New York lacks a fair and progressive tax structure that requires corporations and the wealthiest among us to pay their fair share of taxes.
  • The ultra-rich generate a significant amount of wealth through investments, appreciation of assets, and inheritance, yet they pay very few, if any, taxes on those items.
  • Despite record-breaking profits, corporations continue to receive large tax breaks.
  • Despite threats that the wealthy will move away in response to increasing taxes, the richest New Yorkers are actually the least likely to leave New York. In fact, following tax increases in 2019 and 2021, there has been no statistically significant out-migration of high earners and high-earners most often move to high-tax states like California, Connecticut and New Jersey.
  • However, lower-income families are moving away at increasing rates, largely due to the state’s high cost of living. According to FPI, “Households with young children are 40% more likely to leave New York State. 36% of households leaving NYS are moving in search of affordable housing — more than twice the share before Covid.”
  • Modest increases to program funding are not sufficient–we must make deep investments to address the widening income inequality gap and our worsening affordability crisis affecting New Yorkers long-term.

THE SOLUTION  - Share Our Wealth! Generate $3 billion in needed revenue.

New York State must protect and expand our existing public goods and services by ensuring that the wealthiest New Yorkers and the most profitable corporations in our state pay their fair share. CWA supports the Share Our Wealth proposal which proposes:

  • Increasing New York’s top tax rates for those earning over $5 million and over $25 million by 0.5%
  • Increasing the corporate tax rate by 1.75%
  • Making these changes permanent