Albany – The Assembly passed its “one-house” budget proposal today, which proposes a spending of $256.5 billion – $4.5 billion or 1.8 percent over the Executive proposal. This increase is largely attributed to commitments to human services, Medicaid, School Aid, Higher Education, environment, and various other programs.

“Despite the state having a higher GDP than entire nations like Sweden, New Yorkers have seen diminished spending power in recent years, owing to exceptional housing costs as the gap between wages and inflation widens. Meanwhile, as of 2022, the top 1.5% of earners earned 30% of all income earned in the state, and income inequality has worsened since 2019 as the number of millionaires and high earners grow.

The Assembly’s analysis shows that the number of millionaires grew by 21.1%, from 69,688 in 2020 to 90,579 in 2021, marking the highest number in recent state history. And except for Chenango and Hamilton, every county had millionaires: New York county leads with 26,768 millionaires, followed by Westchester at 11,043, Nassau at 8,249, Kings at 5,444, and Suffolk at 5,198. The reason we have a surplus of $3.5 billion this year – $3 billion of which will pay for the Governor’s “inflation refund” proposal – is precisely because of the modest tax increases on the rich and corporate profits in 2021, and because corporate profits and opportunities for high-earners have continued to grow even as middle-wage jobs continue to shrink.

However, not having anticipated this surplus because of unnecessarily conservative revenue forecasts means that instead of spending it on long-term programs that continually improve the lives of New Yorkers, we’ll be spending it on one-time expenses. In this year’s budget, we must correct the course. And it begins with including the Assembly’s modest proposals to further tax millionaires and large corporate profits, so that in the coming years, we can implement programs New Yorkers deserve, such as: establishing a truly universal childcare program, investing significantly in the greening of public schools and making them the models of green infrastructure, investing in statewide public transit that is affordable and reliable, stabilizing our healthcare system, creating a green social housing authority to build permanently affordable homes with union labor, eliminating the deficits of SUNYs and CUNYs, extending the coverage of unemployment insurance towards universality, protecting ourselves from the disruptions caused by climate change, and more.”

The Assembly one-house proposes to extend the current 7.25% tax rate for the highest earning companies with profits over $5 million for an additional three years, and increase the rate to 9.25% for those with profits over $10 million through tax year 2029. It also proposes to extend the current Personal Income Tax Surcharge for millionaires for an additional five years, through tax year 2032, by increasing the tax rates as follows:

• $5-$10 million, increase from 10.3% to 10.5%
• $10-$25 million, increase from 10.3% to 10.75%
• $25-$100 million, increase from 10.9% percent to 11.75%
• Above $100 million, increase from 10.9% to 12%