The mayor needs to learn to balance a checkbook, show up to work, and stay out of Iowa.
18
You know how right around Christmas and extending into 2019 the market started to make it back. Next year they'll make it back.
2
So, the words "what if" are absent from NYC's budget thinking. Nice.
7
There's a solution to this. Have military at the border with guns that don't allow the rich to leave. Oh oops that's Communism.
4
And now Amazon is pulling out from NYC: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/08/amazon-is-reconsidering-ny-headquarters-site-because-of-local-opposition-washington-post-reports.html.
So even fewer high paying jobs in NYC, so that much more burden split among the remaining NY taxpayers. Hopefully deBlasio will announce more freebies for undocumented workers, and at least hasten the city's complete financial collapse. I can see the Daily News cover now: "Trump to NYC: Drop Dead"
9
Anyone here see the irony in NYC, something I've been saying all the time. Give government more money and they will expand their spending. Not their effectiveness or efficiency, just their spending and labor force.
"New York has long tied its fortunes to Wall Street; the securities industry accounts for a disproportionate share of the city’s wages, and taxes paid by the highest-earning 1 percent of New York taxpayers typically generate more than 40 percent of personal income tax receipts in the state.
In recent years, that relationship has helped the state and city steadily increase their budgets; New York City, for example, has boosted its full-time work force to its highest level in history."
So, for all the far left blabbing about the rich not paying their fair share, it seems they were carrying the NYC public workforce. Guess the city forgot about 'rainy days.' Worse, because of public unions, they cannot fire even the most inept without going to court (never happens). Sadly, the city is doing worse. Guess more doesn't mean more.
12
The rich aren't going anywhere. This is Cuomo's Oscar bid on behalf of his true constituency, Wall Street and real estate. Concurrently, he's been stepping up the hysteria for congestion pricing, claiming it as the ONLY possible solution to subway funding, because a millionaire's tax will - all together now - cause them to flee. Maybe someone should tell Ken Griffin, the guy that just paid $238 million for a penthouse that all the millionaires are fleeing. Oh wait, he's a billionaire, so that logic doesn't apply to him.
19
Stan, they guy who paid $238mm for the condo won’t stay there much, so, no he won’t be paying income tax in NY. And of course tax burden is a factor in where wealthy people choose to live. If 40% of NYC income tax rvenue cons from one industry aND that industry has a downturn, and/or some of the high earners move out of state, the city and state will have a bigger fiscal problem. Like the other commenter said: some leftists marvel at how conservatives can’t see the threat from global warming, yet those leftists can’t see the threat from relying on a tax revenue stream that can pick up and move.
13
@stan continople
depends what you mean by "the rich".
Sure, Griffin can afford a $238 million house AND the taxes that go with it.
But lots of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut retirees move to Florida or Arizona as soon as they can. I'm planning on doing so in the next 3 years.
In New Jersey, I pay huge real estate taxes, high income taxes, high sales taxes, and i'm told i'm not paying my "fair share".
I cannot afford to live in Manhattan, but I can afford a moving truck to Miami.
Good riddance.
16
Lol that condo is tax abated for the next 30 years!!
5
Yes blame Wall Street. You people realize that the average moderately successful, single Wall Street guy/gal that rents an apartment in NYC probably pays 40-50% in tax? Federal, state, city all combined. And you want to demonize them? OK keep biting the hands that feed you.
39
I don’t work on Wall Street and I pay 49%
10
Both Cuomo and De Blasio are complaining absolutely it revenue (tax) shortfalls this week. And yet Dem politicians in NY are expressing hostility towards the idea of Amazon bringing 25k high paying jobs to the NYC area. And I thought AOC and her lefty buddies said yesterday that their Green New Deal was going to create millions of high paying jobs out of thin air.
Well, the Washington Post is reporting that Amazon is considering cancelling the expansion into NY, instead bringing all those high paying jobs to a locale with friendlier politicos.
11
legalize marijuana, legalize sports betting = revenue gap closed.
2
The obvious solution is to cut spending but that is the last thing a bunch of socialists will do until it is forced upon them by angry tax payers
14
And folks are objecting to 20,000 or so new Amazon jobs?
13
Well, it is clear as day that NYC relies heavily on wall street tax revenue to run its operation. City tries to cater more to other white collar businesses but naive residents call it as corporate hand-out, sweet heart deal.
Wake out! City needs to change and we need to change otherwise we risk to become a rust belt city.
5
I will also be taking my leave of New York in 22 months my wife and have purchased a new home in a tax friendly southern city. I am sad to leave the city my family has called home since the 1830s yes but why should I continue to pay an extremely high tax bill every year? The governor has already stated that my kind ,devout Catholics, nra members are not welcome so I am leaving because New York has left me. I hope who takes my place will be able to pay the same amount in taxes ,volunteer the same amount of hours ,and donate the same amount to local charities as my wife and and I. So New York continue on your path leftward I'll be watching from afar. Good luck those who stay
6
Yep, we moved to FL three years ago and it was like getting a $25k a year raise. Real estate taxes are only $3k here instead of $13k on super congested LI. No state income tax either. We took our pension down to the sunshine state.
9
The key comment is that New York City boosted its full time work force to the highest level in history. The City continues to pay very high salaries, with enormous benefits, and depends on high taxes to do this. Unions help to prevent any reduction in work force levels. Eventually, lots of people leave the state but the infrastructure remains. It is not a long term plan.
7
Tell that to the NYPD?
3
De Blasio ought to raise taxes on the rich to 70%. That'll teach the rich who is boss. Besides, the rich have more than enough money with which to pay more taxes. And de Blasio should also raise taxes on those banks and Wall Street firms that are making billions of dollars a year. Maybe de Blasio can raise their taxes to the same 70%.
2
@Tony You boost it to 70%, they will leave the state altogether. Did you not read the article?
6
Socialists like de Blasio always demonize Wall Street until the cash cow runs out of milk. Then they wonder where the money will come from to fund all of the free stuff they give away to buy the votes that got them elected.
12
The City did not "lose" a billion dollars in tax revenue, as you cannot lose something that you did not posses to begin with, or in this case ever existed. The billion dollars of tax revenue never existed, because the capital profit gains never occurred, so therefore, how can the City "lose" something that never existed in the first place? Who pays income tax on income they never made to begin with?
The reason the City has a shortfall is that the City had projected that the stock market was going to do much better than it did, well, de Blasio was wrong. Since, when is de Blasio a stock market prognosticator?
Maybe instead of predicting what the stock market will do, he should make budget projections not based on what he thinks the stock market will do. Just a thought.
14
De Blasio is utterly incompetent. NYC has about 9 million people. Our city budget is over $90 billion. For those who aren't math inclined, that's over $10k in spending per person. But where does that money go?
The subway, which is the heart of the city, is crumbling. NYCHA has run up $32 billion in needed repairs. The NYPD, which brought NYC from one of the most dangerous cities in the US to the safest in just 3 decades is under perpetual assault, crime on the subway is up. The homeless population continues to rise, and increasingly it seems that there are more and more people on the street struggling with severe mental illnesses that make them a danger both to themselves and others. Housing costs continue to skyrocket.
Yet despite all these real problems, what do De Blasio and Council Speaker Johnson focus on? Providing free healthcare for illegal immigrants who most likely aren't paying any taxes. Closing Rikers and making it easier for the people who make that jail so dangerous to get out on the streets among the general population faster. Setting de facto racial quotas for the cities specialized high schools rather than letting test scores and academics determine who's best positioned.
Meanwhile foreign billionaire's buy up the condos in Manhattan to leave them empty and De Blasio hasn't even considered a pied au terre tax... I'm afraid NYC is going to become a tale of Two Cities with only extremely rich and poor left and rampant crime in the outer boroughs.
28
@JP It is worse. Consider that half of adults pay no taxes at all! Combined with the fact that the 9 million includes children. Oh actually, your right, they will pay for our profligate spending as well. Ever more debt, ever fewer shoulders.
7
I thought that Mayor de Blasio, in his state of the City speech, said that he was going to take back the wealth from the 1 percent and redistribute it to the working class. With the 1 percent paying less taxes, shouldn't the tax burden fall more on the working class by raising their taxes? Someone has to pay for the "benefits" of government. "It is only fair" goes the mantra of the "progressive" democrats. No such thing as a free lunch.
Mayor de Blasio should be telling his constituency that budgetary constraints preempt new programs and require a bottoms up review of current expenditures and program effectiveness. Cuts will be made. My Mom always said no when I wanted something that the family budget could not afford. The Mayor needs to stand up and say no.
11
Governor Cuomo really misses the mark when he says the SALT tax elimination/cap is causing the rich to move to Florida. There is zero no evidence that high state taxes cause the rich to move. When Connecticut instituted income tax for the first time 30 years ago, the same argument was that all the rich people would move out of state...au contraire.
But, Cuomo's worst miss is not that the rich are leaving (they are not), but that the middle class, and especially the middle class retirees are leaving NY in droves and have been over the past 25 years, because in large part they cannot afford the the combined effect of massive state, property and local taxes. In other Northeast states that have much lower tax burdens on their middle class, their middle class is not fleeing their home states at anywhere near same rate as New Yorkers are theirs.
Cuomo and the NY Dems do not get it, and that is that NY taxes are much too high for their middle class in combination with the general cost of living in NY. Meaning, NY tax policy is designed to destroy its own middle class, which it is succeeding at quite well.
17
SALT, or no-SALT, the bigger problem is that de Blasio is an incompetent fiscal management. On his watch, the budget has exploded, mostly due to hiring more and more people.
Having just used the interactive "NYC Budget Explorer," I see that about $50 billion is spent annually on pay and fringe benefits. That's a lot of money!! The solution to de Blasio's self-inflicted budget problem is simple: Don't simply institute "hiring freeze," but instead reduce headcount.
I would bet a large sum of money that if every department cut staff and comp by 10%, everything would be just fine. With $5 billion/year in revenue to spend, we could finally fix the subway, get to work on fixing public housing, and make this city a much better place to live.
The city has more than enough money for its needs, but it's missing capable managers. De Blasio is in way over his head.
13
@BrooklynBond Reduce headcount by 10%? Might as well ask for express service to Mars! NYC jobs are patronage jobs for life. Have a thought for poor De Blasio, without ample staff how will he have time for his 2 hour workouts?
8
Trump, making New York great again.
Can’t necessarily blame this on our native New Yorker president.... but wait a minute, is he a New Yorker or a Floridian where there are no taxes?
4
Those evil businessmen are losing money and won't be able to subsidize New York because their tax liability is going to be less this year. Such a tragedy. Tax the poor to take up the slack. Rent control NOW!
2
It was only a question of time when tax revenue would not be growing but shrinking instead. The five years of Deblazio have seen increased city hiring, increased free programs with little acknowledgment that the music may stop. Every politician has come to the "Peach" tree of free stuff demanding for their social programs, i.e. discounted metro cards for the poor even as the system requires more funding for repair. A billion here, a Billion there unbridled spending zero control over excess agencies overtime spending. The pigs are at the trough. Future Daily News front page New York you just dropped dead.
13
Both parties have been bailing out Wall St. and bankrupting Main Street for decades. It’s called Neo-liberalism.
Wall Street and it’s puppets in Government (state and federal) have hallowed out the middle, working, and the poor to service their unchecked greed. Wealth inequality has never been higher and it’s getting worse by the day.
Wall Street and it’s 1% share holders will stop at nothing turn a profit even if it means turning this country into a banana republic dictatorship and an economic and environmental waste land, they could care less.
But what are we to expect from a society that worships capitalism and the religion of greed.
4
@ma77hew not greed, just common sense. Well-off taxpayers won't be sticking around in NYC and NYS to pay for their bloated governments. What's yoor plan to replace their tax dollars?
7
@Richard
Then Go!
When the Federal Gov and New York State gives Wall Street, and corporations billions in tax breaks in corporate welfare and the 1% get massive tax breaks while wealth inequality is soaring?!! That is not common sense, its late stage capitalism and the signs of greed addicts out of control.
Common sense is to go back to a tax rate that supports the community and instead of favoring the extremely wealthy.
Go! Leave! Who wants a community where the wealthy and elite don't pay the fair share? It's vile and disgusting.
The 99% will not stand for it.
2
Still want to outlaw success?
Still want to "ban" billionaires?
9
Bring back the Municipal Assistance Corporation for The City of New York, or an updated program with tax-free municipal bonds.
And history repeats itself.....again. Apparently California's experience during the last recession wasn't noticed by those who would raise taxes. All the stock option millionaires created by IPOs and such in CA went away as the economy crashed and burdened them with taxes on stocks now underwater. The quick version is that this dependency on taxing the wealthy to an extreme level led to California's budget being hopelessly in the red for years.
Now government officials with no apparent memory or understanding of economics are expressing surprise at the latest tax shortfall and finding all sorts of incorrect reasons to blame for the results of their tax the rich and spend policies. This would be funnier if it weren't so sad.
8
Once the financial implications of SALT nondeductibility become clear to the highest earners, half or more will move to 'no state income tax states', particularly Florida. Today, especially for the highest earners, their job is located wherever there is a fast internet connection. Is there anyone reading this article that disagrees? Why would they stay? deBlasio's charm and competence. Andrew ('I'm a shadow of my father') Cuomo? Once they go, the 'rich' that will be left, are the $150K/yr two-earner couples. In ten years, we'll be Detroit-on-Hudson.
11
There is a similar situation in the country’s largest state. My home state, Alaska, tied its fortunes to its oil long ago. It even made a constitutional amendment to pay every resident some of that money every year. Once the oil supply diminished, as it has and will, state income dropped and budgetary shortfalls rose. Alaska has been trying to fix that problem for a long time. How long will NYC take to see the value in diversification? Depending so heavily on one revenue source is a bad idea fraught with bad outcomes.
5
@Michael Bloomberg smartly brought the tech industry to NYC, so we are no longer a one trick pony. Unfortunatly, we now have politicos like Gianaris who want to roll back all those gains.
10
Clipping the wings by cutting the tax revenue of self-serving politicians like De Blasio--who mooch off the rich, betray the middle class and encourage poverty--is a good thing overall. NYC's middle class has all but disappeared. More and more New Yorkers are fleeing the state for a better quality of life elsewhere. Is less tax revenue the new normal? You bet. I hope NYC and NY State go bankrupt for all of the abuses it exacts upon working class people. People are leaving the city and state in droves. No need to wonder why. There are two classes of people in NYC: rich and poor, with nothing in between. Haves and have-nots. It would be better for a single mother with two children to stop working and collect welfare (providing her with $65,000 in benefits) than to work. What kind of horrifying state creates no opportunities for wage growth with such an unbelievable cost of living? Time to get out.
13
@Joshua
I left 3 years ago for those exact reasons. NYC has turned into a terrible place to live.
7
Maybe there was merit to Mr. Laffer's Curve after all.
4
Tying any government agency to Wall Street is insanity. Look what that's done to public employee retirement payouts. There needs to be a wall between government budgets/income and Wall Street. Allowing Wall Street to infect everything is stupidity and shows the weakness of our current economic system of unbridled capitalism.
3
Where do real estate developer giveaways and tax shelter apartments fit into all of this?
5
Tax the rich .. Tax the rich -- Unfortunately to NYC .. we are all rich. Nothing new here -- the exodus from NYC and all of CT and NJ has been building steam for years . Remember, selling a security at a loss to offset a gain earlier in the year does not net any income to the taxpayer -- he lost real money on the one transaction. There was no income to tax.
Paying taxes is the cost of living in this great country -- but, let's face it, the numbers are getting out of wack. If you are a 1% and making 500k .. the difference in taxes makes your home in Florida free .. technology makes it possible.
I'm sure the year end selling did cut revenue -- I dumped a few. But, I cannot see myself staying too much longer .. it's a quality of life issue and the differences are not 10 or 15k. It's a large amount today ...money that can buy a different lifestyle.
Does anybody think the current group of tristate leaders will be on the taxpayers side?
9
Let's ask Amazon to cover the shortfall by returning subsidies paid the world's richest person?
5
Guess all those real estate tax breaks given to developers don't look so good now?
11
Utterly ignored in this article is the extraordinary and unprecedented shift in the past seven years of money to Vanguard ($1 trillion seven years ago to $4.2 trillion now) and other firms that offer low-cost index funds to investors. The low-cost aspect has cut out the Wall Street middle-man wealth managers who used to pump up Manhattan's economy with expensive lifestyles and, yes, taxes. This slice of the city's economy is not coming back, as (thanks to the late, great John Bogle), investors finally wised up and stopped wanting to pay a percentage of their money to be in the game of investments.
7
The cap on SALT was a directed attack on NY and CA designed to force them to cut back on social programs. The drop in state in state/local revenue is a feature not a bug.
It's also an attack on the more affluent jurisdictions in Texas with their high home prices and property taxes intended to force those, generally, Democratic local elected officials to cut back on social programs.
1
@BL
but higher taxes on the rich is what you wanted, here they are and you still complain?
3
You want to hitch your tax policy on higher and higher taxes for the wealthy? Get used to these yearly fluctuations in tax collections. We need to start taxing the middle class THEIR fair share (i.e. at least as much as they consume) to get the European style benefits we all love to talk about.
6
22% of ALL tax revenue goes to the Pentagon and war-related activity. Discretionary spending is less than 2%. Lets at least get it straight collectively WHERE the money goes.
And that’s not even mentioning interest on debt. Bloomberg said that universal healthcare would bankrupt America!! Lol we’re already bankrupt. That didn’t stop a 1.5 trillion $ tax cut. ?
2
@South Of Albany
Would love to cut defense -- but, look what happened in the 90's when we did. No one picks up the slack ... The USA is the only game in town -- sadly.
Universal health will work in the USA -- when we match the rest of the world in spending 5K vs 12k per year and stop spending 50% of care costs in the last year of someone life.
4
This is a joke, right, since we know politicians of all stripes regularly sock it to the middle class whenever they think they need money.
3
Yes and no. To the extent that residents 70 years old and older who derive income from federally required minimum distributions [RMD's] from rollover IRA's and the like, and to the extent to which such income tax payers may in the aggregate 1) pay more NYS and NYC tax (meaning that the aggregate amount of their income tax payments may be disproportionate to their portion of all payers of such tax, and 2) withdraw only the RMD, then on the last trading day of calendar year 2018 the total market value of their rollover IRA's was less than earlier in the year and, maybe, lower than the account balance on the last business day of 2017--especially given the RMD paid out, and thus subject to income tax in and for 2018, then, going forward throughout calendar year 2019, their RMD's will be less than in 2018. Therefore, to the extent that the aggregate amount of taxable payments by taxpayers so situated may be larger than their raw numbers might indicate, then such taxable income and the payment of income tax based on it will be smaller throughout 2019 and into 2020. The release of IRS forms 5498 and an analysis of relevant information may well yield a doleful projection. To some extent the annual shrinkage of life expectancies [smaller divisor, larger result] offsets shrinkage of the year-end account balances, but it is more likely that the diminished account balance looms larger than the reduced life expectancy. So, not out of the woods for a while.
1
Shocking! I'm sure the answer is just to continue to raise taxes on everyone. I'm sure that will solve the problem, because we wouldn't want to have to cut the size of government, right Mayor?
12
Of course there’s a study that tells me people aren’t choosing where to live based on a tax burden when my wife and I did that exact thing. Instead of purchasing a home in Westchester we are continuing to rent in NYC. It’s really too bad that two young professionals ready to contribute to a community were essentially taxed out. I will never ever own property in this state for that reason.
6
Yes our financial base is declining-- but how about all the tax abatements we give wealthy developers, or the those we give to bring or tempt certain industries to come to the city? Won't those those companies will require infrastructure changes, transportation for employees, and police and fire department protections? And how much does the MTA get from developers when it gives away its one commodity, its property? Then we watch our metrocard fees escalate.
7
The flight is yet to come. Whilst I personally believe every American needs to pay taxes for a common good, one could argue that places like NY and CT have hit extremes and overly rely on the “rich”. When 45 percent of NYC taxes come from 1 percent of the population and 15 percent of CT taxes come from one city (Greenwich) and imbalance has occurred.
Further Wall Street is in structural decline and hence, that source of funding for excessive waste is over. The up roar about about bringing tech jobs (Amazon) to the area makes one wonder, do the people of NYC really think money grows on trees. There is a point where people leave and I am afraid that last years tax reform and “solutions” we hear about from Hartford accelerate that thinking. Never before have I heard of 30 and 40 somethings talk about leaving. Technology has made mobility for the most qualified easy. No longer do people have to retire to leave. They can do their jobs from anywhere.
The Trump tax “reform” does serious damage and ignores the fact that most of the states with state level income taxes also pay more tax dollars to the Feds than the states get back and many of the so called efficient states actually are subsidies by places like NY and CT.
Because the GOP base are the very people that benefit from this you never heard anyone talk about shrinking entitlements at the state level. That is the failure of the leadership, especially the leaders of the blue states.
6
@glp5
The in/ out ratio to the federal government is mostly the result of SS payments. They count these payment as transfers from the wealthiest states to the poorer states -- but, think about it ....... The individual gets them back ..and then some. It's not a wealthy state/ poor state transfer because no state gets the money. the higher wages on the coasts skew it even more.
When you take SS out of the mix it's all more even.
3
NYC should study a plan to get out of the housing business, whether it takes ten years or twenty-five. NYCHA is failing because there isn't a profit motive. Subsidized housing, healthcare, paid maternity leave, utilities, landlines, transportation, minimum wage laws, and now Democrats proposing guaranteed income plans.
Where does it stop. I can see advocates in the future proposing we pay for vacations insisting people deserve two weeks off in the Poconos.
11
I am surprised that people are ignoring the history of tax flight. The Stone's, Beatles, Brit Movie star all took off to tax havens in the 60s and 70s. Heck, successful European lawyers and doctors had tax haven bank accounts.
Also in the 60s and 70s, finance employees had to stay in NY, Chicago and London. The tech has changed that, you can move anywhere.
Part of the solution that Nordic countries have is increase the tax base. You hit the top income bracket pretty fast. France uses a lot of non-income taxes (vat like) which seem to hit middle low income workers, and now they have the yellow vest movement.
As the USA debates tax strategy, they should look at all sides. The Democrats only look at the upside, the Republicans only look at the downside.
10
NYC Public Schools waste billions of dollars. Most schools run far below their capacity yet the city rents private buildings to put additional schools in. Many classes have two teachers in the room at the same time. Some school buildings have three or four principals operating multiple schools. We spend hundreds of millions on photocopies instead of text books. Thousands of teachers, ATR's, are getting paid full top salary ($120,000) but are doing the work of day to day substitutes. Thirty five billion dollars to educate 1.1 million students or $32,000 per student per year. We could cut five billion dollars from the budget and students and parents wouldn't even know.
14
Your comment is spot on. We seldom read about the per pupil amount spent on public education in NYC. I am a retired fund manager who moved to NJ partly to escape the NYC tax burden. When my kids graduate from high school in a few years, I’ll move to Florida or another low tax state. My kids go to catholic school, in NYC that (or or private school) was the only sensible option, due to the too-common lack of preparation and discipline among public school students. I don’t mind paying taxes if the money is used efficiently, but the waste and incompetence in NYC schools, the MTA, etc is not going to carry on forever because the people who pay for it get fed up and leave.
11
@Barry
look at the school mismanagement in the major cities in NJ. Camden is over 32k per student .. but ask people what they problem is .. they will say "underfunding". It's sound goo and it plays tot he base ..... but, it's not true. Decades of waste and mismanagement -- altered test scores. No wander parents want charters.
And Murphy keeps adding perks.
5
Remember the lesson that Joseph taught Pharaoh: "In good times, prepare for bad". There may well be seven lean years. Should this surprise anyone? It is a lesson that Donald Trump studiously ignores. In good times, he says, spike the deficit rather than paying it down.
3
Raising taxes in this era of non-deductibility may prove to be counter productive. There is a limit on what services any government can provide. "Free" is a nice thought, but it's disconnected from reality. Somebody always pays.
11
Only the city and the state have plans to spend every penny they can. Why can't they build surpluses to offset the inevitable rainy day instead of always searching for more revenue and more spending.
4
My property tax under this mayor has almost gone up 100 percent. While the world may love Bloomberg and our present mayor people who actually live here may not be of the same opinion. A short fall of tax revenue while giving Amazon massive tax breaks to come to Queens and destroy a neighborhood? Now our mayor is pushing healthcare for everyone while our subways are are on life support? New York's mayors sometime in their quest to play to a national audience they forget the people who actually pay their salary.
18
@Steven McCain "Amazon massive tax breaks to come to Queens and destroy a neighborhood? ", You mean to bring thousands of highly educated and well paid employees who will swell tax coffers many times over the 3B in tax incentives? This is 'destroying' a neighborhood now? The only people against this plan are those who see their sinecure of a tax payer subsidized apartment threatened and the politicians who pander to them. NYC, up is down, left is right. I am a Queens resident, been one all my life.
7
There wasn’t much of a neighborhood there before the arrival of the first high ride around 20 years ago. It was almost entirely gutted our industrial and ripe for development. The residential portion was small.
2
Watch out! That means they will try to make up the shortfall with all kinds of fees. The red light ticket cameras will be working overtime. Because New York is a tax hungry monster with an infinite appetite for your money.
9
Oh well, let them photograph and fine speeders and red-light and stop-sign scofflaws. They make driving in Brooklyn a nightmare. And then you'll be both making money and teaching aggressive drivers to tone it down.
3
I find this story comforting. Perhaps the politicians and voters will someday realize that if you rely too heavily on a very small number of people paying way more than their "fair share" of the taxes, your budget is exposed to wild swings. Investors have a bad year, or a few relocate to lower tax environments , look out below... falling budget estimates! Politicians in these states will probably double down, raise top tax rates and make themselves even more dependent upon the stock /real estate market investment gains music continuing (as they did in CA extending the "temporary" prop 30 tax increases). Then without a continuing bull market, budgets will have to be slashed drastically year-to-year causing real pain. This is coming soon to California where the legislature/new governor believes tech and real estate boom will go on forever and appear poised to lock in huge new spending commitments right at the market peak before the decline. First they came for the rich people, but I didn't worry because I wasn't considered rich ... next they will need to come for my wallet and/or make huge spending cuts on things people value (such as public education, fire, police, road maintenance, etc.) so they can argue the desperate need for additional taxes.
9
if the extremely wealthy are starting to file out of state, while holding defacto residence in state, then the taxes need to increase for homes and apartments over a certain dollar amount, say 5 mil, goes up x percent every so many millions of dollars valued - up to that guy who bought the 250m penthouse.
This wouldn't affect the vast majority of upper middle class apartment owners in NYC, which can mean a pretty high amount in flyover dollar values, but if set appropriately, would be a way to regain the revenue lost by changing residence.
5
Work out the Amazon deal to bring in thousands of jobs with taxable incomes and vote Trump out of office to restore normal tax deductions. A rising tide may not lift all boats, but it will lift a lot of them.
12
It seems the supposedly detailed analysis by Governor Cuomo blaming the SALT limit was very premature. It makes a lot of sense that the Xmas Eve drops were a godsend to people wanting to cut down on taxes, particularly on outsize gains in Q1 2018. The drops could not have come at a better time. People sold stocks on December 27 and bought similar, but not identical, stocks after Jan 1 and rode the market back up in January and early February. It made a huge difference in many investors’ tax situations.
These bureaucrats cannot figure out simple events like these impacts and they want to advise corporations on what to invest? Spare me.
46
@Michael Blazin You can't do that. There's wash sales rules that force you to wait 30 days, or you're not allowed to recognize the loss.
1
What many commenters on here fail to grasp is that the rich are not going to sit around and pay higher taxes simply because you think they “should”. In this globalized, high-tech world (remember, you wanted it that way?), the high earners can move to another (lower-tax) state or country and then who will support your profligate spending? I wouldn’t be too quick with the “tax the rich” mantra. The rich, after all, is who’s paying your bills. But there’s a limit and we live in a mobile world.
94
The rich are getting a free ride on the backs of all of us... why do you think they are rich? Seriously, the rich have helped to dismantle the middle class, and that's not just a cliche. People are well aware how the manufacturing economy has been hurt by moving factories overseas, and people are very concerned about the hourly wage of McDonald's workers, but what about those of us in the professions? How many of us are doing the job of two or two-and-a-half co-workers who were let go and never had their positions refilled? How many of us are treated like serfs with no rights by our employers and fear retaliation even while watching the destruction of our places of employment by graft, corruption, and poor decision-making? How many of us are actually working a 40-hour work week, instead of a 60-hour work week? Takes lots of hours to do the job of those colleagues whose positions were terminated... How many of us have had raises to even keep up with the cost of living? The rich can afford to pay, and I'm sorry, but they owe us all. They pay my bills, indeed! Please read that as, "How dare you?"
47
Yeah. We’ll just have to keep on licking their boots.
17
@KitKat The rich are paying my bills? Really? Could you please provide an address so I can send them my bills? Thanks in advance.
27
if one wants to solve this problem, simply raise the rates on high earning individuals and corporations. It's pretty simple really. Where is it written in stone that the wealthy get to take a bigger and bigger slice of the profits of production? Nowhere except in the increasingly corrupt tax policies sponsored by 1 political party. Fix it!
27
Did you not read the article? When taxes are raised on the wealthy, they leave the state. Raising taxes further will only exacerbate the problem.
28
That is not true. If one works for a big bank in NYC but lives in Dallas the days travelled to NYC to conduct business (i.e., close deals, sit on boards and attend meetings) are counted as NYC income and a ratio is used to determine what is owed NY.
Another example is a partnership (LLP) that does business in 30 states is taxed pro-rata in all 30 states and each partner regardless of where they live pay tax to all 30 states.
Trade or business income, dividends, interest and gains are all sourced to the source that gave rise to the income and tax is collected no matter where you live.
Let them move and pay tax on the gain on their home to NY.
6
@rodo
High altitude ?
1
NY City's dependence on Wall Street for taxes is a house of cards waiting to be blown over. If NYC really wants to make up for the tax shortfall, they should dramatically raise taxes on the wealthy. It's precisely the right thing to do -- for many, many reasons. Cutting programs is precisely the wrong thing to do.
Wake up!
12
I find it satirically ironic that liberals blame the conservatives for not seeing global warming that right in front of their face with all of the supporting data
yet dont see there is a tipping point for rich tax payers to starting moving out of high taxing cities and states right in front of their face with all of the supported data
27
Even when they move they will pay tax to whatever state their income is generated in.
1
Democratic politicians consistently proclaim that they hate Wall Street so much that they refuse to accept political contributions from them.
Perhaps the city and state should refuse to accept their tax payments !
15
What does it mean if a rich person "moves" to Florida, while still retaining a New York residence? What are the occupancy requirements for someone to pay NY taxes? How many days a year? Claiming that you've moved to Florida, or anywhere else for that matter, as a tax dodge should be challenged by the city, but of course, since it is ruled by a bunch of real estate goniffs who profit no matter what, it will never happen.
6
You have to actually live 184 days out of the state. It is impossible to do if you have a regular 9-5 job. Even if you telecommute, your employer must pay you from office location. You must be retired or be an independent contractor out of state. Dividends and capital gains can go anywhere.
8
Florida is full of people from other states, both Republican and Democrat, who “Homestead” in Florida but who do not live in their residences 183 days per year. Their is a reason why Florida early voting is predominantly white and high income. The state doesn’t check residency for voting either.
You have to live 183 or 184 days in a state to be a resident. Anyone that just owns property in a place and claims residence to avoid taxes commits fraud. FL has substantial surcharge for property taxes from non-residents. He is also an idiot because it is so easy to be caught. When they catch you, they bring down the hammer. In this case, both FL and NY will come after you. Take the time to plan, wait till the situation fits your life, and then do it.
2
Have you ever wondered how Florida gets by with zero State income tax, while at the same time New York depends on a 9 percent state tax for the pleasure of living in a State that is a virtual Moscow on the Hudson from Dec to May. The answer lies in fiscal responsibility. New York State and New York cities biggest problem lies in bloated lifetime pensions given out like candy to State and City workers, many of who ironically move to Florida and take their pensions with them, this never ending , always growing liability will eventual break the back of both State and City. The End of SALT will indeed lead to an exodus of the rich from New York, but SALT was never fair In the first place it allowed millionaires and billionaires to deduct the whole of their State Tax on their federal, now its capped at 10,000 dollars. Rich people don’t like giving up their money, and if they can save hundreds of thousands by moving to Florida, Texas or Nevada that’s just what they will do. When, not If , a recession hits, and with it a Wall Street downturn, this City will have no answer for the budget deficits to come, services will be cut, jobs will be cut, but those pensions, those city pensions, they can’t be cut, and every year more retire adding to an ever growing burden. When all these chickens come home to roost you better hope you have already retired, sold your home and packed up and moved to Florida yourself.
50
So the top 1% pay 40% of city income taxes.
Or as our despicable mayor Bill "the money is in the wrong hands" Deblasio would put it: free-loading.
25
tax tax tax.. until those paying more than their fair share - the rich - move outta stay. Doh!
15
"New York has long tied its fortunes to Wall Street; the securities industry accounts for a disproportionate share of the city’s wages, and taxes paid by the highest-earning 1 percent of New York taxpayers typically generate more than 40 percent of personal income tax receipts in the state."
And this is why New York City will never be a great city, or even a good one. Merely a different flavor of Vegas.
5
Maybe if deblasio would stop spending and giving awY everything and think about what revenues he will have nyc wouldn’t be in this mess. He is pulling the same thing as past mayors and kicking the can down the road for another mayor for another day.
21
I see! $1 billion shortfall and he’s looking to cut spending.. he says. Certainly that MUST mean that the college tuition aid to ILLEGAL immigrants he talked about last week will be withdrawn. If he’s looking to cut spending on programs, cutting spending to illegals has to come before cutting spending to tax paying citizens who have paid in for years.
Every day this mayor is in office, the more he demonstrates he hasn’t a clue as to what’s REALLY going on in this city. It’s more than scary!!
48
Just a few months after the $4 billion subsidy to Amazon was announced, they claim they'll have to cut public services. This is right out of the Republican playbook. Cuomo and de Blazio are fake progressives who use Trump-like tactics to get their way.
15
Ah the tax the rich crowd is complaining that the rich are fed up with being a punching bag and the root of all evil what will all the progressives due when their are no more big evil rich people to pay for all their handouts will they make the poor actually take responsibility for themselves and their actions how will that lock-in their votes maybe the progressives will actually have to use their own money for something
34
This was part of the tax reform bill's intent all along. The SALT deduction will affect blue states more than red, esp. NJ, CT, and NY. The federal payouts to states will change. It will force states to either reduce services/costs or raise state and local taxes. The effect on red states will be different but they will also face financial difficulties as well. https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2018-01-26/sorry-blue-states-you-can-t-fix-the-tax-bill
9
What? The governments of NYC, NY state, CT, CA, and other such places, are wrong in their budgetary estimates? How could this possibly be?
Especially when, according to whatever her name is, we only have 12 years left on earth before we all die anyway?
How...delicious! How...delightful! How...absolutely...frightful!
18
I love New York, but......
No kidding.
1
DeBlasio is truly incompetent. But, worse than that, he's actively destructive of society. Remember that deBlasio is pro Sandinista which supported a proletariat Marxist revolution in Nicaragua. In other words, he survives by taking and spending other poeple's money.
40
New York, I am sorry for your loss but it is being done because of one of your own brought it about.
Don after you leave the white house you might not be welcomed back home.
7
OMG, I just looked this up and I can't believe it! The entire Florida State budget currently is $89 billion. Over 21 million population! How can NYC justify a budget of $92 billion??? AND no income tax here, no estate tax, no inheritance tax (all protected in the State Constitution requiring a referendum of 60% of voters to overturn!), 6% sales tax, among the lowest property taxes in the country. But I guess we're all just a bunch of dumb hillbillies, so we can get away with it! LOL!!!
35
@JTK and don’t leave out New York State’s budget of roughly 180B for a slightly smaller population than the state of Florida’s
3
Florida gets significant amounts of transfer payments from the Federal government. And it’s ranked very low in quality of education. Net result is a lot of minimum wage service jobs.
Yes, taxes are low but beyond that it’s not for everyone.
2
When you kill Wall Street, this is what the Democrats should expect to get.
The golden goose refuses to lay.
7
The only good thing about the Wall Street slide is it hurts Cuomo! The worst governor. Have you rode the subway lately? He names the Tappan Zee after is dad. Such ego and hypocrisy.
6
The situation would not be so severe if the liberals put the brakes on giveaway programs, such as Medicare for all and funneling money to illegal aliens.
14
how stupid can the folks in ny be...the rich are simply declaring florida ad their domicile resulting in them not paying ny state income tax.
6
By far, the most common comments so far are bemoaning us ignorant savages not recognizing how much we owe the rich and warning New Yorkers against either taxing the rich, or, God forbid, not supporting the interests of Wall Street. Typical. I just have to say, this is what the middle of the country is fed up with. Continually trying to strawman our arguments by showcasing extremists and suggesting to City audiences that they represent rural and small town culture is fast losing its charm as a tactic. It is clear that New York is addicted to Wall Street, and with it, Wall Street values, which is why major city publications spend so much time trying to vilify people who don't live there and to suggest that our ideas as somehow dangerous to you. We see YOU as a threat because you support what is basically mob activity from the very rich as long as the victims aren't in your own town. Your insistence that Wall Street and the super wealthy be protected, damn all else, is a big part of the problem across the nation. Both Republicans and Democrats keep insisting that the middle of the country vote for candidates who think that we are ants and manufacture hatred of us to convince you to align with their interests. It's our turn to tell you that you are not voting in your best interest. You stopped voting in ours a long time ago.
7
Gee, and here I had been thinking that Wiscinsin finally stepped up and booted that Scott Walker anomaly straight over the bleachers.
1
TCH
This is just the beginning.
Wait until the federal government projects its budget shortfall.
Reality will once again impede the far right's attempts to make us believe their no tax fantasy can actually work.
Wisconsin already disproved these theoretical conservative political utopias don't translate well to reality.
No, matter.
"Only I can solve it."
If we accept the lessons of Trump's history, this is the part where everyone must face the reality that Trump has overplayed his leverage.
The casinos, the USFL, the Wall and his much anticipated health plan, all the result of the same disingenuous behavior.
Say what ever, look tough and no matter how it ends, claim victory. Be damned of the consequences to others.
The new tax law was a poorly written piece of political pandering. In true Trump fashion, not many details were enumerated.
As such, the tax code bleeds money. With the ambiguity in interpretation of many of the code's changes, Trump and the Republicans have bankrupted the Republic.
Many of those well-versed in the discipline of economics, expressed concern over the lack odetail in certain regulations.
For my friends from the moral majority, a man sows what he reaps.
Many of you turned a blind eye to Trump's immorality and corruption, rationalizing to justify the ungodliness of Trump's behavior.
"A few pieces of Silver" is all it took.
We know how the story ends, don't we?
3
RE:
taxes paid by the highest-earning 1 percent of New York taxpayers typically generate more than 40 percent of personal income tax receipts in the state.
Someone ought to tell this Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the rest of the socialists who claim the rich don't pay a fair share.
18
@Reader In Wash, DC - Sounds like mitigating evidence until you consider that it really just establishes how poor the working poor really are, and how truly overextended the striving/faltering middle class really is as it tries to fill that giant gap in the remaining 60% of the till.
Also, as has been pointed out billions upon billions of times, the 1% isn't paying a whole lot of tax (nor is the 5% or 10%) on their capital gains.
10
When you have a highly progressive income tax, you had better hope the rich make a lot of money. If they don't, your city is in deep trouble, as Mayor de Blasio is finding out.
California's next. If Silicon Valley doesn't keep churning out millionaires, California's tax revenues will drop precipitously.
17
By all means, compare California’s budget to Ohio’s.
NY is not supported by other states, in fact it gets back far less money that it sends to Washington. Yes some taxes are high however the government provides many services and safe guards for it's citizen's.
4
It is important that we all find ways to pay less in taxes in NY. Now we are just supporting the huge number of illegal immigrants in NYC and a Governor who only thinks about his political career.
Mr. Cuomo has it half right. Long-time New Yorkers will continue to flee the state due to high taxes. But it’s not the relatively small amount of taxes due to the SALT limitations - it’s the incredibly high property taxes of NY.
I pay nearly $13,000 in property taxes - more than double than when I bought my house 20 years ago. I can buy the same house in South Carolina and have a tax bill of under $2,000. New York’s Democrats have driven thousands of longtime residents away with their outrageous spending. No one can afford to retire in NY.
30
@Matt Williams
Go to South Carolina. South Carolina's schools ranked 48th - only 2 states are worse in the country. In terms of health outcomes, SC ranks 41st/50 states. SC ranks 41st for crime. Overall, SC ranks 42nd.
Compare to NY, which ranks 25th overall. 23rd in education, 15th in health care, 11th in crime.
So go ahead, run away to South Carolina. You might save some money on your taxes, but think of what you give up!
1
What happened to the 4th explanation?
That taxes were lowered this year by republicans to benefit the rich?
Who will now pay? Probably the usual vulnerable citizens, namely children in terms of education and poor people in terms of benefits. What a system.
8
@Sara Klamer FEDERAL taxes were lowered, not New York City income taxes.
2
"... the 2017 Republican tax bill, including what he called “a diabolical, political maneuver” to cap the so-called SALT deduction — something he said might be causing high-earners to flee to tax havens like Florida."
Perhaps an explanation as to why citizens of fiscally disciplined states need to subsidize the profligacy of New York and California would be in order.
12
NY State sends approx $48 billion more to the Federal government than it receives. That subsidizes a lot of those 'fiscally disciplined' other states.
14
@Jeff Guinn - The IRS says that CA gives the Feds 13 billion more than it receives. Of the top 10 economies, CA (2.7T) at #5 ranks just behind #4 Germany (3.7T)
Is Trump really that popular in Germany?
1
@KPL Yeah, but does that include an analysis of the money the rest of the country sends to NY in the form of financial services?
We buy cars from Detroit. (not really, but you know what I mean)
We buy items from California, Texas and so on.
No, we send our money to NY for services...and you all get rich off that.
3
it's not so much about moving as about establishing primary residency. a wealthy person with a home in Manhattan and a home in Florida may decide to live in Florida for a few extra months each year and shift their primary residency to that low-tax state. They still own a home in NY but they will no longer have to pay NYS income tax or inheritance tax. This is particularly appealing to well-off retired people. There is no reason to live in NY full time.
14
@Asher Doesn't New York have a part year resident tax calculation? I checked this out and if you maintain a permanent place of abode in New York State for more than 11 months of the year and spend 184 days or more in New York State during the tax year, you are a NYS resident and subject to tax for the entire year.
1
New Yorkers, please understand that your addiction to Wall Street money and blind support of Wall Street power in return for its precious local/state tax dollars is destroying American society. Our social fabric, our communities, and our safety nets are all under constant attack from your buddies down the road. You need to find a different way to survive, like the rest of us, whose communities have been systematically targeted and dismantled, along with our relationships, environment, and values. New York is wonderful and important, in both past and present. But your continued comfort should not endanger us all.
2
Hmmm . . . a major corporate and PRO-corporate newspaper frantically tries to convince its readers that they should support giveaways and bizarre levels of unearned support to companies that swim in subsidies and on- and off-book perks and giveaways, all as they dodge their taxes and social responsibilities and lead the charge to treat workers like disposable carcasses of meat. Perhaps the headline should note the loss of PROFITS, instead of trying so hard to frame it as primarily a tax loss for all us little folk. We were all forced to give up pensions and to link our retirements to Wall Street profits in the 401K debacle You will never convince me again to link my soul to that poisonous lot.
5
Cuomo, DiBlasio, respectively the OMB, NYT and commentators all show that they have no clue about the US tax systems and the effects of the Trump tax reform :1. It’s ridiculous to make the argument that there is a decline in State Tax revenue because certain federal income tax deductions have been eliminated. In the contrary, since federal taxable income is the starting point for NY State and City taxable income, the taxable income of the state taxpayers actually increases through the Trump reform and there should be more tax revenue for the states, not less. A windfall profit. 2. It is ridiculous to assume that overnight a “mass immigration “ of “rich” New Yorkers happens within a year. If you are wealthy, you don’t move only for a few tax dollars to boring Florida or Wisconsin. 3. Yes, some people may have realized portfolio losses at the end of 2018, but the deduction is limited to $ 3,000 for married couples.
The most plausible interpretation for me is that the OMB and NYS made just a bad estimate on the basis of unreasonable assumptions to cover the fantastic budget increases they had to underpin with revenue per the demands of their overlords Cuomo and DiBlasio. Just wishful thinking is all it takes today to be a successful political leader.
8
When I was in the lower middle class with a modest income, a rented apartment, and no assets, I lived in California and didn't think that the high state taxes were such a big deal. When my career was about to take off, however, I did the math and noticed that I would save tens of thousands of dollars every year by leaving for a more tax-friendly state. It was simply impossible to justify staying. As a consequence of its high taxation, California now receives exactly $0 from me.
My spouse and I are watching the increasing resentment of wealth and rise of socialism on the national level very closely. Once or twice per year, we review the citizenship rules and tax laws of countries where we could pursue our dreams if US federal taxes become too oppressive. We don't want to leave the US, but the financial reality is that we will emigrate if the government decides to tax us to death. Who wouldn't?
22
You would probably like living in a first world nation that provides health care free to all citizens. I know I would. Free college education would also be a great stress reliever for any American family with college age children. Most first world nations invest in the health and education of citizens.
22
And where do you plan on going? Sweden, Netherlands, France, England
2
@Zejee.....'Most first world nations invest in the health and education of citizens.'
But our media keeps it dark how they do that. It's up to reader comments to even mention the contrast.
2
A lot of what Cuomo and other Democrats are claiming about the revenue shortfall just does not make sense.
- First, in 2017, federal income tax rates were higher than in 2018 and the SALT deduction was uncapped. Wealthy taxpayers would have no incentive to move income items into 2017 so that they could pay higher taxes than they would by waiting until 2018 to recognize the income. They would want to prepay taxes and recognize other deductions to the extent they could though.
- Secondly, they ignore that the wealthy make a lot of their income through capital gains. 2017 was a good year for the stock market, so one would expect higher income, and therefore higher tax withholding. In 2018, the market started off well, but it had a terrible Q4. One would expect that many wealthy found that they had overpaid estimated taxes, thus reducing year end tax payments. When 1% of the taxpayers pay 46% of the income taxes, this kind of stuff happens.
- finally, Cuomo is comp,wining that the tax law changes are hurting the WEALTHY. IfI,remember correctly, the Dems complained about the tax law changes as a giveaway to the wealthy. The SALt limit simply reduced their savings. The estimate is that to repeal the SALT limitation would cost the feds $80B per year, or $800B over the ten years they use to calculate impact. About half of that, or $400B, would go to those making over $1M per year.the top 0.1%. Almost all the rest would go to the remaining 2.9%. Is that what Democrats want to do?
8
Funny that it took Republicans to figure this one out despite the constant drumming of the "higher taxes" beat by left-leaning politicians. Clever and diabolical? Maybe. Necessary? I'm leaning towards yes. Maybe its time for the high and mighty to come to the hinterlands and buy some property that doesn't have a coastal view? Its not too bad, really. We have unobstructed sunlight, actual dirt instead of concrete, animals that aren't pigeons, AND the great people of the hinterlands will worship your crazy amount of wealth. We also have enough space to put our gardens on the actual ground instead of on top of buildings which is pretty cool and convenient if you think about it. I think its a win for everyone. Nice job everyone!
4
@Quinton
Las Vegas, eh? You mean the town which wouldn’t even exist without the federally funded huge dam and reservoir next door?
Hinterland is too nice a word - how about barren desert?
1
@JH First of all, that’s Boulder City you speak of as Las Vegas and the people who settled here came far before Hoover Dam. Second of all, I got nothing against federal projects. Also, the majority of the energy from Hoover Dam goes to California along with the water too. Finally, It’s only barren if you can’t appreciate the fact that today was sunny and 50 degrees with a cool breeze while the rest of the nation freezes. The people complaining about the heat always act like you spend the most time outside and that the summer ruins it which is just not true. Most of everyone spends their time indoors and we have pretty amazing AC units everywhere. Additionally, (last thing) we have something NY doesn’t have: affordable housing.
1
Dear New Yorkers,
I suspect your resident Donald Trump has been claiming Florida as his home for years so he doesn't have to pay state income taxes in New York.
Must be nice to have two homes so he can dodge taxes.
Once the Democrats get his IRS reports, I guess we'll find out.
Why is it that the rich never think they are rich enough?
54
@Panthiest
The Donald no longer lives in NYC. Why should he pay taxes to them?
1
@Panthiest Ha ha. Do you have any idea how many middle class New Yorkers 'live' in Florida?!! This is not a 'rich thing.' Class hatred and envy is destroying America and creating illogical thinking among those that are buying it.
Legal marijuana should fix the budget shortfall.
17
Odd sort of comments bashing Democrats for this mess. The stock decline is affected by global markets, an aging bull market, trade jitters with Tariffs, poor leadership from the Clown House, and general unease with investors. The tax cuts temporarily inflated corporate earnings but the lasting affect is not sustainable.
Blame whoever you want but we'll continue to see volatility until 2020 so plan your finances accordingly.
19
No fan of Trump but capping the tax deduction for the rich was the right move.
Does anyone need 3 residences, one Riverside Drive, one in Princeton, on the beach in St. Croix ? Like Krugman ?
If you can afford that, you can afford the property tax
52
Though Trump will delight in the impact on Blue States, this yet another unforeseen consequence of the Republicans’ wildly improvisational, half-baked, dimwitted bazillionaire tax cut whose sole purpose was to slash the tax burden of the oligarchy. Why they bothered to half-craft a comprehensive bill is a mystery.
We would be better off if this had been a one-liner: Anyone making more than $10 million a year will pay no taxes.
I dread the morning after April 15, when we discover all the other little surprises in that two-foot stack of handwritten margin changes upon changes.
This would be very entertaining to read about...if we did not have to live through it.
44
@Bohemian Sarah Did you or anyone that 'liked' your comment read the article. Most readers of the NYTimes seem to have a propensity to just read the headline. And this is the enlightened educated Dem voters? While they slipped it in, the NYTimes admits clearly that is was wall street, not the Republican Tax law that drives the shortfall. Know it doesn't fit your narrative, so no need to read facts, just blast Trump.
New York has long tied its fortunes to Wall Street; the securities industry accounts for a disproportionate share of the city’s wages, and taxes paid by the highest-earning 1 percent of New York taxpayers typically generate more than 40 percent of personal income tax receipts in the state.
In recent years, that relationship has helped the state and city steadily increase their budgets; New York City, for example, has boosted its full-time work force to its highest level in history.
Just wait until more learn that they can have a much better life in say Nashville, Jacksonville, Tampa, or Austin. Then those tax and spend politicians will be looking for someone else to fleece.
28
Around MAGA types? I’ll pass.
4
@vulcanalex
Dear vulcanalex,
I have had a home in the Houston area for the last 18 years and what I can tell you as a US taxpayer, is, that my taxes for 2018 went up, not down. To be honest, it was not a dramatic increase, but it was an increase nonetheless.
I did not vote for Trump because I think he is a phony and a bohunk. Still, I was hoping his tax bill would leave me a little more of my hard earned pay in my pocket. It did not.
As many have commented the tax bill has been a boon to the rich.
And yet I do find it comic that that the honorable Mayor, who hates on the rich, now finds they have outsmarted him, cause he needs their money.
Who would have thunk it.
6
Seems ironic that while many Dems are screaming "Tax the rich! Tax the rich!", that is exactly what the cap on the SALT deduction does. Beware what you wish for, or incur the consequences.
64
The gravy train of making other states pay for your largesse and endless “ programs “ is over. Trump eliminated the deduction and rightfully so. Get your fiscal house in order and free stuff is not free.
31
@Bill Lombard You must have missed the data. New York has never been subsidized by other states. EVEN AFTER THE DEDUCTION we paid more in federal taxes than we received in benefits. Other states have been subsidized by New York. Our subsidy is now getting even bigger.
86
@E Good for you, my state created the nuclear weapons that ended WWII, seems like a massive contribution to your state.
7
@vulcanalex - A comment both bizarre and historically inaccurate. The Manhattan Project was based in NM, where the bombs were actually designed and tested. The bomb core material was sourced from WA and TN. Oak Ridge enriched uranium, and the U of Chicago played an important role regarding the first controlled reaction. Oppenheimer's theoretical work at Cal preceded all of the other steps. It's safe to say it was a multi-state achievement.
18
Thank Donald Trump's tax code, and the professional ripoff artists in the modern GOP.
Billionaires no longer pay any taxes. In fact, the vast majority of extremely wealthy people, like Jared Kushner for example, not only don't pay ANY taxes, their tax position is actually a revenue stream.
Kushner made ~$375,000,000 and he gets a check from the IRS. And that's a fact!
Meanwhile, the guy seating it out on a production line pays 35%.
There's a name for this, but, it wouldn't get past the comment moderator.
75
@Chicago Guy
Did you read the article?
taxes paid by the highest-earning 1 percent of New York taxpayers typically generate more than 40 percent of personal income tax receipts in the state.
10
@Chicago Guy Wow. Guy from Chicago makes a comment filled with errors; obviously didn't read the article, and then has the nerve to talk about it caused by Trump tax code?!!
New York has long tied its fortunes to Wall Street; the securities industry accounts for a disproportionate share of the city’s wages, and taxes paid by the highest-earning 1 percent of New York taxpayers typically generate more than 40 percent of personal income tax receipts in the state.
In recent years, that relationship has helped the state and city steadily increase their budgets; New York City, for example, has boosted its full-time work force to its highest level in history.
1
How's hating on them Wall Street types working out for ya?
But you ain't seen nothin' yet: Just wait until we get buyback bans, 3% wealth tax rates and 70% marginal income tax rates. The good times will surely roll!
45
Don’t tax me, don’t tax thee, let’s tax the rich guy behind the tree. And when there are no more rich to tax, what then?
45
@Haenabill
"And when there are no more rich to tax, what then?"
Then it will be time to quote Margaret Thatcher: "The problem with socialism....."
5
Don’t worry. The rich keep getting richer. It’s the rest of us who are getting poorer.
6
@Haenabill - Ummm . . . maybe an improved standard of living for a greater number of people after all those investments in healthcare, education, and infrastructure made possible by replacing that temporarily missing tax revenue? To the voting booths, comrades!
De Blasio sees a 1B dollar shortfall and still wants to increase spending by 3B! Where does that money come from? From you and me, fellow tax payer. I am middle class, I am asked to pay more and more for less and less. I just got a property tax bill where where my assessment went up 20%!! Really?! I wish! I am sick and tired of paying out the nose for nothing, seeing my money redirected to De Blasio's latest social justice mission.
Combine that with the open hostility in NY to business, a la Amazon, looking at you Gianaris! If you want robust social services, you also need the tax base to pay for it.
153
@B
Please, please! Stop trying to use Common Sense - this is New York.
13
Why do Governor Cuomo and other Progressives oppose capping - or even ending - the SALT Deduction?
Doing so raises taxes on the wealthy, something that Progressives have been advocating for years.
14
So NYC depends on Wall St. to support the budget.
If so, why do NY pols constantly deride these saviors?
Be careful.
If Wall St. decides to leave NYC we'll be back to the bankrupt NYC of the 70's.
109
@Tuco
Oh, your comment is absolutely a corollary to the old verse from Britain about the coarseness of British soldiers mingling in the general population of civilians:
"It's Tommy-this,
And Tommy-that,
And throw him out, the brute!
But 'savior of his country' he is,
When the guns begin to shoot."
3
@Tuco
When I lived in NYS during the 2008 recession the NYT reported that one job on Wall St provides the same tax revenue as 10 jobs in upstate NY. So you can't live with them and you can't live without them!
2
But it's a central plank of Democrat policy to have high taxes and big government. If a side effect is to scare off the rich people and bankrupt the Democrat-led state of NY, then it proves that rich people do pay tax after all. Just that they'd rather pay less if they can.
But the voters should have thought of all that before ticking Democrat candidates at the ballot box....so whose fault is it?
30
@GJ Philip Both parties have become more similar than you may think. Reps are no longer for small government as one can just look at the increase in public employees and administrators. The biggest driver for blue states/cities looking as bad as they do is their incestuous ties to public service unions and the subsequent commitments of excessive, non-sustainable, benefits for life.
The tax scam was specially designed to inflict pain on blue states. Selling it as a "middle class" tax cut was an out and out lie (as people who are filing their taxes are finding out). And had Democrats not taken the House at mid-terms, McConnell would have used the massive deficit it is creating, as an excuse to gut Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security...
42
As I ride the B45 bus between Crown Heights and downtown Brooklyn, an obvious revenue source stares me in the face. And a job creator as well. I'm talking about Brooklyn specifically, but I am absolutely sure that this would work in Manhattan as well, having once lived there.
First off, hire and train a small army of traffic enforcement officers, raise the fines for illegal parking, then STRICTLY enforce ALL existing laws...NO DOUBLE PARKING, NO STANDING IN BUS STOPS, ETC. The key is to TICKET and FINE ALL violators even if their is someone sitting behind the wheel, including USPS, FedEx, UPS, construction vehicles, tractor-trailers, delivery trucks, and other commercial vehicles that clog streets with total disregard for others...including other commercial drivers.
The revenue realized from this proposed program could fund much needed MTA repairs and improvements, make the roads safer, and should eliminate any need for fare increases on those who can least afford it.
The other SURE revenue raiser is to levy a commuter tax on all those who work in NYC and live in the suburbs. Not just a toll to cross a bridge but a real tax, like a sales tax, that would be paid on the very good living earned by many commuters into our great city. Again, funding what's needed without penalizing those who can least afford it.
It's a form of socialism, and it is VERY democratic. Let's see if the politicians can have some vision and courage. And if NYT has the guts to suggest it.
11
@John Paul Esposito Great idea and when they learn how to avoid your fines you will have to lay off those employees.
1
@John Paul Esposito Do you really not know that those commuters are paying NY state taxes?
5
@DMA
Exactly
1
Out-of-State Buyers Flock to Miami
Residents of high-tax cities are increasingly drawn to South Florida after last year’s tax law capped deductions
25
@R. R. NONSENSE. That move started over 20 years ago and has continued, through the recession, through the 'good times' in the stock market, etc. And it's middle class that have left, not just the 'rich.'
@R. R.
On the other hand, they'll be under water even (much) sooner than we will....
Soak the rich and they leave?
What nerve!
84
@R. R.
Exactly!
Who is John Galt?
5
@R. R. Now it will be the Dems chanting "Build That Wall!", round the 5 boros - to keep people in!
5
@B - Right on! Literary kitsch elevated to the status of political platform.
The backup plan for everything seems to be taxing 1-3 family property owners until they break while tax exempting the luxury pied a terres
12
The market tanked at the end of the year and now it went back up. Makes me wonder if it all was planned as a tax strategy.... just saying
4
Too bad they can't simply raise the tax rate when incomes go down or do not produce sufficient revenues. Like they do with property tax. With impunity. Year after year.
5