Maximum pension benefits averaged $68,676 for the 2,495 members of the New York State Teachers Retirement System (NYSTRS) who retired in school year 2016-17 with at least 30 years of credited service time, according to data posted today on SeeThroughNY, the Empire Center’s transparency website. Read More
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is running for re-election this year and President in 2020, and apparently he thinks his killer app is opposition to the GOP tax bill. Judging by his proposals so far, we’d say this is going to be harder than he thinks. Read More
Governor Andrew Cuomo wants to overhaul the state tax system by swapping state income for payroll taxes, which remain deductible under the new federal tax code. E.J. McMahon, research director of the Empire Center, a fiscal watchdog group, notes that the loss of state deductibility could cost taxpayers an estimated $400 million. Read More
With the state facing its grimmest budget outlook in years, the legislative session shows signs of becoming a tug-of-war between public schools and health care—the two biggest recipients of state spending and, not coincidentally, the two heaviest-hitting lobbying forces Albany. Read More
New York state and local government workers could save at least $112 million a year if a pending U.S. Supreme Court case puts an end to compulsory fee collections for government unions, according to a new report from the Empire Center for Public Policy. Read More
This report provides an overview of the current landscape of union representation, finances, lobbying and political activity in New York State. It concludes with recommendations designed to strengthen the rights of government workers and the oversight of union nances that are ultimately derived from taxpayer-funded salaries. Read More
New Yorkers pay the price for class action lawsuit frivolity — through “higher auto insurance rates, higher health care costs and higher taxes,” says a report by the Empire Center for Public Policy. Read More
The governor said he’d explore the feasiblity of “a major shift” of New York’s state tax burden from individuals (who will be losing federal deductions) to businesses (which will be keeping them), via a new statewide payroll tax on employers. The idea might sound plausible on the surface. But on closer inspection, replacing even part of New York’s personal income tax (PIT) with a payroll tax would be fraught with mind-bending complications — and not very feasible at all. Read More