, the Empire Center's senior fellow and frequent blogger on this site, discussed state tax issues Wednesday on YNN's "Capital Tonight" program with Liz Benjamin. Also appearing was Michael Kink, a leading advocate of higher taxes. . Read More
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Without discussing details, Governor Cuomo did not flatly contradict or deny aWall Street Journal report that he is considering some sort of personal income tax “overhaul” that would combine a middle class tax cut with some sort of increase in tax rates for upper-income households. Read More
Governor Cuomo may seek to extend higher state income tax rates in top brackets under the guise of a tax reform or restructuring that might also involve a tax break for middle class, according to a report in today’s Wall Street Journal. Read More
The Cuomo administration reportedly is talking with labor leaders about tapping public and private pension funds to help pay for state infrastructure projects, including a multi-billion-dollar replacement for the Tappan Zee Bridge... Read More
The Times ran a on Mayor Bloomberg's plan to develop the Far West Side of Manhattan. The story doesn't mention how drastically City Hall has had to change its financial estimates -- and make actual taxpayer-cash outlays -- for the projec Read More
Governor Andrew Cuomo is making a big deal out of the failure of a congressional “super committee” to produce a deal on reducing the federal budget deficit. This is supposed to trigger $1.2 trillion in across-the-board federal budget cuts over a 10-year period beginning in 2013—which, Cuomo said yesterday, could translate into $5 billion in lost federal funding for New York. Read More
New York’s highest court has just ruled—not for the first time—that Article VII, Section 8.1 of the State Constitution does not mean what it seems to say in prohibiting gifts and loans of state money “to or in aid of any private corporation or association, or private undertaking.” Read More
New York’s highest state court has ruled that a broad “no layoff” clause in a public-sector labor contract cannot necessarily be used to prevent job eliminations by a government employer. Read More
So, here’s a non-surprise: The financial outlook for New York’s state government has deteriorated in the past few months, according to the Mid-Year Financial Plan Update from the Division of the Budget (DOB). Read More
Property tax burdens in New York’s counties, based on U.S. Census data crunched by the Tax Foundation, are presented in an online map widget unveiled yesterday as part of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s new “CitizenConnects” program. Read More
The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (Sifma) held its . Speakers' outlooks on the financial industry bode poorly for New York's economy. "I think we will see a lot more cost cutting," said Toos Daruvala, director of banking an Read More