Cuomo shoots down NY millionaire’s tax as other states turn to rate hikes
The governor is putting the onus on Congress to fight for a stimulus package that restores New York’s funding
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo does not want to raise taxes on the rich to plug coronavirus-related budget holes, even as a number of states and cities consider hiking rates.
Despite a significant drop in revenue collections, Cuomo said if local lawmakers were forced to increase taxes on millionaires, it would lead to “a bad place.”
“We used to be worried, a millionaire’s tax, people might leave. No no no. The burden shifted,” Cuomo said during a press conference this week. “We’re trying to get people to come back.”
NEW YORK CITY LOSES HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS IN WEALTH AS RICH RESIDENTS SKIP TOWN
The Democratic governor noted that 1 percent of the population pays 50 percent of taxes in New York, and these people are among the most “’mobile” in the world.
“I literally talk to people all day long who are now in their Hamptons house, who also lived here, or in their Hudson Valley house or in their Connecticut weekend house and I say, ‘You’ve got to come back,’” Cuomo said. “They’re not coming back right now. And you know what else they’re thinking, if I stay there, they pay a lower income tax because they don’t pay the New York City surcharge.”
Cuomo is putting the onus on the state’s senators and representatives to fight for a stimulus package that restores New York’s funding.
New York City lost $336 billion in wealth in the 12 months ending June 30, according to a new report released on Wednesday.
NYC FACES DEEPENING TAX REVENUE HOLES
Local officials in other areas of the U.S. are weighing tax increases.
As previously reported by FOX Business, the Nashville City Council approved a budget that contained what it acknowledged would be a “painful” property tax increase on its residents, hiking rates by 34 percent.
Two other states, Colorado and California, are eyeing property tax increases as lawmakers look to patch respective budget holes. However, both have to repeal measures that were previously put in place to limit sky-high tax rates, which is underway in each state.
Meanwhile, Seattle is looking to impose a payroll tax on the city’s highest-paid employees, working at its largest employers. The tax would range from 0.7 percent to 2.4 percent and would be applied to businesses with $7 million or more in annual payroll. An assessment would not be placed on salaries below $150,000.
San Francisco is considering potentially raising taxes on executive compensation.
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In New York, a proposal was introduced in May to tax unrealized billionaires’ unrealized capital gains.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has indicated he is not opposed to raising taxes on the rich.
“The rich keep getting richer even in the midst of this crisis,” de Blasio said during a press conference earlier this year. “So, I absolutely believe this is a fair time to talk about higher taxes on the wealthy.”
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