Governor’s Budget Plan Cuts Taxes for the Wealthiest 1 Percent

Working families bear the burden of his disastrous budget

Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton (D-Tompkins/Cortland) said that an analysis by the Assembly Ways and Means Committee revealed that under the governor’s proposed budget, a family making $75,000 a year would pay 1.6 percent more of its income in increased expenses this fiscal year, while a family making $500,000 a year would actually pay 0.6 percent less.

"It is unconscionable for the governor to insist on tax cuts for the wealthy, while raising out-of-pocket expenses for New York’s working families," Lifton said. "All he is creating are roadblocks to financial stability."

Under the governor’s budget, a family making $75,000 a year would pay roughly:

• $750 more, thanks to a 50 percent cut to the Tuition Assistance Program and a hike in SUNY tuition;

• $214 more because of a state sales tax on clothing; and

• $203 more in real property taxes because of cuts to Medicaid and shortchanging education.

The total increase of $1,167 would be 1.6 percent more of the family’s income.

**Click here to view a side-by-side comparison**

Further, a family with an income of $30,000 would bear an even greater burden – paying $2,341 or 7.8 percent of its income more in new expenses – under the governor’s proposal, including:

• $2,165 more because of the TAP cut and tuition increases;

• $86 more because of a state sales tax on clothing; and

• $90 more in real property taxes.

Meanwhile, the governor’s budget would provide tax relief to New York’s wealthiest 1 percent – a family making $500,000 a year would receive a $4,250 income tax break.

**Click here to view a side-by-side comparison**

The Assembly’s budget would provide for working families by:

• ending the state sales tax on clothes at the end of the year;

• eliminating the TAP cut and increasing funding to SUNY Cortland and community colleges like TC3 to prevent the tuition increase;

• providing more Medicaid and public school funding to keep local property taxes down; and

• eliminating the tax cut for New York's richest 1 percent.

"I’ll continue to fight for a state budget that is fiscally responsible, fair and on-time," Lifton said. "As conference committees proceed this week, I call on the Senate to join the Assembly in righting the governor’s wrong choices for New York’s working families."