De Blasio’s Push for Tax on Wealthy Helps Put Pressure on Cuomo

I don't automatically turn away from the idea of raising taxes, especially on the "rich," but to me the real problem is the city and state's ability to responsibly spend the money in taxes they get. There is a track record of over paying for every major project while extending the time it takes to complete anything. Just think about the second avenue subway, the extension of the number 7 line or the east side stop for the LIRR at Grand Central Station.

When you add in the shear amount of corruption and incompetence at the city and state level I have little faith that monies collected through this new tax will ever reach the subways in any kind of substantial amounts.

Real reform in our political process of government and how money is spent is needed but will this ever happen?

This doesn't seem to address the immediate issues to fund and fix the subway system, which is awful in terms of infrastructure and service. How about reforming the MTA pension system, which has bankrupted it in the first place?

DeBlasio seems to be throwing a bone to his liberal base, while he himself, a limousine liberal, prefers to travel aboveground in his chauffeured SUV.

If you are raising the taxes with the excuse we need more money for maintenance of our infrastructure okay, but dont use this money to buy votes from the masses with cheap social programs. Makes no sense to say we dont have money for maintain subways but cut fares, kind of stupid management decision that just a politician could make.

Rich folks -- meaning the cartoon cliche that dances in the heads of regular folk -- structure their cashflows as capital gains. The Mayor's proposal misses that altogether. Result: the Mayor's supporters are happy someone is "fighting for them" -- but they've been conned. Those few successful working folk who make high incomes will simply accelerate their move to the suburbs-- they get great schools with lower taxes. The real victims: the mayor's supporters who have no clue they've been had...

The Mayor's proposal was pure hot air, another shifting of blame to the State level over which he has zero control. Why does the Times report it as if it was substance?

Ah yes, if de Blasio raises taxes on the wealthy, they'll all pack up and leave to create their own lofty civilization, a la "Atlas Shrugged". Meanwhile, from where I sit in Greenpoint, all I see are luxury condos sprouting up along the waterfront and once Brooklyn is conquered, the vultures will move on to Queens and the Bronx. And, if you don't believe that plans are already sitting on the desks at Vornado and The Related Companies for a post-prison Rikers Island, then you are hopelessly naive. Yes, the rich have had it with New York.

Recommended reading (very brief) from a piece by economy analyst and reporter Doug Henwood for his publication Left Business Observer:

https://lbo-news.com/2010/01/12/no-money/

As per Henwood in 2010 (but maybe this info is too old now and needs to be updated), "the Forbes 400 who live in New York City have a combined net worth of just under $130 billion." So, why not tax them and their corporations? They benefit so much from all New York has; they should start to pay for it, for all the workers the trains carry to their offices and headquarters in and around NYC. That's the beginning of a fair approach to subway and train fares, and to properly and adequately capitalizing our mass transit system for the long haul. Why is it that we don't hear much more about these potential solutions to our transit woes from the NY Times?

DeBlasio is trying to rid the city if the rich

For those voicing concern that a 0.6% tax increase will cause people to move out of NYC, I'd posit that anyone withh an income over $500,000 annually in the city has already decided that on balance they will pay our higher income tax rates as a trade off that allows them to live where they want to live, rather than in the NY suburbs or in another state.

It shouldn't come as a surprise that Bill de Blasio supports taxing the rich, and wanting something like this isn't new for him. Some need to keep in mind that he does have a progressive mind set and that many progressives do support having the rich paying their fair share in taxes. If I was living in NYC or if he was running for mayor of my town, he would definitely win my vote for saying, though that's mainly because I'm both a liberal and a Democrat. The truth is why should the rich get so many tax breaks when the rest of us don't? Seriously, I'm getting tired of them always crying foul whenever there is a call to have them pay their fair share. There have even been studies found that taxing the rich won't even hurt them or any businesses such as today's guest column over on the Daily News. Honestly, I do find his idea to be better than regressive ideas such as the commuter tax or even any form of road or congestion pricing, and I say that it's regressive, because neither of these will ever hurt the rich due to being able to afford paying them. Another reason why I find those two to be regressive is because they will also be seen as a punishment to those who don't have viable alternatives to getting around without driving and being forced to live in transit deserts due to their income. Overall, I do thank de Blasio for thinking of an idea that isn't always placed on those who aren't wealthy. As for the MTA, I see why audit them first before any pricing plans.

A few thoughts and considerations that I either don't read or given much attention.

Be careful about taxing the super rich. The majority of the 32k will not move, but the top 10% of the 32K will move. Many already have started to move - to places like Florida. Just like companies move jobs to the lowest cost country, the super rich to keep their wealth will move to retain their wealth ... with one caveat; unless NYC keeps a great quality of life and offers things no other city can. That said, I suspect that many of the super rich will move to Florida for 51% of the year.

Once again the real issue of real jobs and wages is ignored. Raising the min wage to flip burgers is not the issue - and technology will replace most of these employees (go to Newark Airport and notice that tablets replaced a lot of waiters). Giving a discounted MetroCard is not a solution. By the way, many of these same people get free MetroCards via Medicaid to travel for medical care. What is the cut off to receive subsidized MetroCards?

Instead of taxing individuals what about the organizations that really benefit - Corporations? And while you are at it Museums, Sport Stadiums etc that use the MTA to bring customers? If a company or org (for profit or not) benefits form the MTA they should pay a fair share?

Lastly, is the MTA efficient? There is no savings to be squeezed? I have not read anything about MTA efficiencies to be gained.

Politics and bandaid solutions. Nothing more. Nothing less. Bravo

And what happens when the 32k millionaires move out of New York ?
Is De Blasio going to stop giving away half-price metro cards ?
Not a chance !
Instead, he will have to start taxing those making 300K.
Then 200k.
Pretty soon, anybody who works for a living will have the honor of paying for the mayor's largesse.

This is exactly what happened with the Alternative Minimum Tax, which is still with us after 60 years, and which was also targeted at a few millionaires.

Democrats have no idea how to keep their hands out of my pockets.

De Blasio is acting like what he is - another cynical politician pandering to his base. Sound familiar? Meanwhile Cuomo -- way smarter at this game -- is finally listening to congestion pricing as a way to pay for transit shortfalls. The fact that de Blasio pretends such plans are dead-in-the-water proves how out of synch he is with Albany.

In NYC one gets to see and smell garbage piled high, have a miserable commute, step over 5 homeless people and dodge several aggressive panhandlers, and that's all before 9AM on the way to work. And now DeBlasio wants to raise taxes (on those who have a choice to leave) for the privilege?

This born and raised and lifelong New Yorker is smiling now that I've finally escaped this mess and expense by moving to the suburbs. That $ formerly squandered on NYC income taxes will be put to much better use...

The tax is going to be a subsidy for low income New Yorkers which will increase ridership, but not fix infrastructure. This doesn't address the issue at all.

This is a non starter in Albany and DeBlazio knows it. He needs to put up the 400 million needed for emergency repairs. Stop arguing about money years back that was moved out of MTA budget to State. The city revenue is fine stop adding to the operational side of the budget and increase the capital infrastructure budget. Playing to his base Mansion tax always a tax only tax that makes sense is the congestion tax in the mid town. Get our congressional team moving on the Infrastructure Bill only Federal dollars can broadly address this aging system properly and produce the needed 21st century model needed. DeBlazio doing damage like the sixties to the economy will get us a repeat of the seventies. Bloomberg managed this city with metrics and common business sense on priorities. DeBlazio would turn this cities economy into Venezuela if he could hopefully he is one term.

Whenever Liberals talk about the wealthy getting tax cuts, I never see it. But when they tax the "wealthy," I pay the bill. I no longer pay taxes to New York, but the commuter tax really should be reinstated. It was eliminated years ago when the Democrats made a blatant bid for State Senate seats in Long Island. (You can't tax just folks from New Jersey). They probably planned to reinstate the tax once they controlled the Senate, but they are still working on it. Won't be easy persuading Senate Republicans to go along, but it would help the City.

Yes, tax those who make over 500k. They probably "earn" way more than that anyway. And what about a tax on all these part-time NYC dwellers who are buying these multi-million dollar apartments, those who stay for the two or three weeks of Lincoln Center's opera season? I happily subsidize people's gas bills and children's schools---I have no car and no kids. Those who fear the wealthy will leave? Please. This is New York City. The tourists, rich, dreamers, international students, and transplants will always come here---even if the taxes are a bit higher.

This tax would make NYC very non-competitive, even locally. The total rate would be 13.2%, compared to 9.3% in New Jersey, 8.8% in New York State excluding NYC, and 7% in Connecticut. If high-income earners need to be in the tri-state area, they can easily live close to the city without being in it.

It's time for Albany to reimpose the commuter tax; if those in outlying areas use our infrastructure during their work days, it's time they again began paying for it.

A general income tax hike to soak the rich isn't the way to go, because they can move away, but a better idea if it can be done under US Constitution and laws would be to treat tax deferred savings accounts for persons making over $200K per year as Roth accounts -- tax them when they earn the money in this state, then do not tax them when they reach 71.5 years of age. That way income is taxed here when and where it is earned NOT when residents have retired and taken their IRA assets to no income tax states such as Florida and Texas. If the 'use tax' on items purchased outside the state and brought into NY passes Constitutional muster (not an impediment to interstate commerce), this ought to.

Just another ploy to tax the wealthy, who are already taxed at an extreme high level. This proposal does NOTHING to fix the biggest problem which is fixing the infrastructure of a very outdated subway system that is not even close to the efficiency of subway systems in Western Europe and Asia. It is only meant to reduce fares. That is a misguided proposal that i believe will not go through.