From Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to Senate Republicans to business groups, a drumbeat for election-year tax cuts is underway. Advocates urged state lawmakers Wednesday to reduce broad-based taxes for all New Yorkers next year instead of continuing a pattern of politically targeted tax cuts. Read More
The upper crust of local-government employees tends to wear uniforms and carry badges, according to the Empire Center for Public Policy, a conservative-leaning think tank that crunched public payrolls for cities, counties, towns and villages in New York. Sixteen police officers, all working downstate, dominated the list of New York’s 20 best-paid local employees in 2012-13. Two more on the list were Westchester County corrections officers. All of the top 20 earned more than $250,000 for the year, the Empire Center said... Read More
Tax reform is long overdue for New York and the state’s high taxes can no longer be ignored, said E.J. McMahon, president of the Empire Center for NY Policy. McMahon said a drop in the state’s corporate and income taxes are needed to help boost the business climate in New York and keep companies in the state. Read More
Business groups as well as progressive social service groups told New York officials they must put an end to decades of targeted, often politically fueled tax breaks and, instead, fairly cut taxes to turn around one of the country's worst business climates. Read More
At the start of Wednesday's Senate hearing on potential reforms to state tax policy, GOP Sen.Carl Marcellino said he was "hoping to hear creative ideas," rather than the same old litany of how bad our taxes are. As it turned out, there was a bit of both... Read More
New York imposes the nation’s heaviest big-city tax burden — which, in turn, is a major component of the Big Apple’s notoriously high cost of living. Read More
Sixteen of New York's 20 highest-paid local employees in 2012-13 were police officers, including a dozen from the Nassau County department, according to an annual report on public payrolls across the state. The "What They Make" report from the Empire Center for Public Policy... Read More
Local officials around the state are breathing a sigh of relief after Comptroller Tom DiNapoli announced Tuesday that their required contribution to fund public employee pensions will tick down. It's the first decrease since 2010, and it comes in the wake of a major spike after the 2008 stock market crash... Read More