skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

To Tax or Not to Tax…That is the Question for NY Lawmakers

play audio
Play

Monday, November 17, 2008   

Albany, NY — Gov. David A. Paterson says raising taxes would only "exacerbate the problem," so they are off the table for tomorrow's special legislative session called to deal with the state's mid-year deficit. But Center for Working Families director Jason Angell says not so fast. It's a myth that raising taxes always hurts the economy, Angell says, pointing to the Center's studies of the 15 states that have higher personal income tax rates than New York. Rather than driving business away, those states have enjoyed seven years of economic growth, he points out.

"All of them experienced positive private-sector job growth, with an average growth rate of over six percent. So it's not true that if you raise income tax rates it's automatically going to hurt the economy."

The state budget office estimates New York has a $1.5 billion mid-year shortfall. Gov. Paterson is proposing $2 billion in cuts to programs like education and health care. Angell says reducing government spending during a recession is more likely to hurt the economy than would increasing the income tax for certain income groups.

Late last month, the governor told Washington, D.C., lawmakers that "hundreds of thousands" of New Yorkers might flee the state unless some taxes were cut. Angell urges Paterson to look at New Jersey, which recently increased taxes on people making more than $500,000 a year.

"In New Jersey, the number of half-millionaires grew by 70 percent, and that's who the income tax increase was on. People don't leave a state just because of their income tax rate--they care about the things that those tax revenues pay for, such as good schools, safe neighborhoods, affordable health care and affordable housing."

Angell notes that New York also experienced job growth after the temporary income tax hike in 2003.




get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021