Assemblyman Joe Borelli (R,C,I – South Shore) sent a letter today asking Speaker Sheldon Silver and Ways and Means Chairman Herman Farrell to consider alternatives to a minimum wage increase. He recommended that an expansion of the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) would be a better way to help the working poor.
“The debate over a minimum wage is always a divisive one,” said Assemblyman Borelli. “We have an opportunity to forge a closer partnership with small businesses by giving tax relief to the hardworking men and women that help make enterprises successful. Expanding the EITC does that without asking our entrepreneurs to pay the price.”
Currently the EITC in New York is 30% of the credit received at the federal level. The letter recommends exploring an increase in that percentage.
The letter states, “I am recommending for your consideration an expansion of New York’s Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), which will do far more to help working families make ends meet. Eligible families receive a credit from the state equal to 30% of their federal EITC payment. This gives beneficiaries an effective hourly wage well above $7.25. Since it is an income-based benefit, it targets the genuinely needy in a way that a wage floor cannot. We should expand the state’s EITC beyond the 30% threshold. This will provide much-needed tax relief and assistance to working families without asking small-business owners to foot the bill on their own.”