Assemblywoman Michelle Schimel attends bill signing ceremony for historic tax relief legislation at Cornwell Avenue School in West Hempstead. Pictured (L to R) are Assemblyman Ed Ra, Governor Andrew Cuomo, Assemblywoman Michelle Schimel and Assemblyman David McDonough.
“The Governor was right to put forth this bold plan. Standing by and doing nothing as the state’s fiscal health continued to worsen was not an option. This plan delivers an unprecedented level of fairness to the tax code,” said Assemblywoman Michelle Schimel. “By shifting a piece of the tax burden to those who can most afford it, we were able to cut taxes for 99 percent of New Yorkers while raising much-needed revenue to help create jobs and close the state’s budget deficit.”
The bipartisan agreement came after months of public debate over extending the millionaires tax, an effort led by the Assembly Majority. The new high-income tax bracket for households earning more than $2 million per year will raise nearly $6 billion in revenue over the next three years, which will be used to restore crucial funding for schools and healthcare, create jobs and pay down the budget deficit.
“Small businesses are New York’s growth engine and this tax reduction will help create jobs and get our state’s economy back on track without jeopardizing funding for the MTA,” Governor Cuomo said. “I thank the leadership as well as the members of the legislature for their dedication in seeing the MTA tax reduced and working to get our economy moving again.”
Under the plan, the MTA payroll tax is eliminated for qualifying small businesses with annual payrolls of $1.25 million or less per year and those who are self-employed and earn less than $50,000 per year. Public and private schools, including parochial schools, are now exempted from paying the MTA payroll tax.
