At a hearing in Albany last week, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani lobbied state lawmakers to help him balance the city's finances with a two-percentage-point hike in the city's income tax on people making over $1 mi Read More
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Albany, N.Y. — The state and its taxpayers cannot afford to allow Medicaid spending to keep growing at five times the inflation rate, the Empire Center's Bill Hammond warns in testimony to be delivered today to the Joint Legislati Read More
Testimony of Bill Hammond Senior Fellow, Empire Center for Public Policy Before the Joint Legislative Fiscal Committees February 10, 2026 Medi Read More
Adding to New York's already high tax burden would be both unnecessary and dangerous for the state's economy, according to a new report from the Empire Center. Titled "Seven Re Read More
Despite the robust growth of state revenues in recent years, many of New York's elected officials are pushing to further increase the tax burden on the state's residents and businesses. Read More
New York State added just 1,008 new residents last year as its post-pandemic recovery ground to a near standstill, newly released Census Bureau estimates show. The population i Read More
Governor Hochul is hingeing a big chunk of her budget – and the state's health-care system – on a politically fraught gambit: asking the Trump administration to help cover immigrants. Read More
In response to Governor Hochul’s State of the State address and policy book, Empire Center experts issued the following reactions: On taxes: "Governor Hochul's promise to hold the line against tax hikes is crucial to restorin Read More
