Here is an interesting fact for you: If you make $45,000 a year, you pay the same marginal tax rate as someone making $4.5 million. Right now, the marginal tax rate is 6.85 percent for everyone.
If that doesn’t sound fair to you, there is hope. For months, supporters of a millionaires tax have called on the New York State Legislature to impose a tax on New York’s wealthiest individuals in an effort to create a revenue stream for the state in place of cuts to precious government programs that will impact many New Yorkers, whether it’s through education or health care. While the millionaires tax is supported by many New Yorkers, it didn’t catch on with enough legislators and, most importantly, Governor David Paterson.
But then came Fair Share Tax Reform. This is a movement throughout the state to reform the aforementioned income tax so that those who make more, pay more. This movement isn’t just a group of citizens who are calling for change, it also has gained support in the New York State Senate, where Senator Eric Schneiderman has introduced legislation (appropriately called the “Fair Share Tax Reform Act of 2009″) that would do the following:
- If you make $250,000, your tax rate will increase from 6.85 percent to 8.25 percent. It is estimated that this increase alone will generate $568 million in revenue for the state.
- If your income is over $500,000, your tax rate will go from 6.85 percent to 8.97 percent. This will create $823 million in new revenue for the state.
- Those making over $1 million would also get an increase. Millionaires would see their tax rate go from 6.85 percent to 10.3 percent, generating $4.6 billion in revenue for the state.
Why is this important? Those huge spending cuts that Governor Paterson has mentioned could be canceled in favor of these reforms. Making wealthy New Yorkers pay more in taxes will create much-needed revenue. The state is in need of said revenue. They have a $14 billion deficit to overcome. This one piece of legislation and single reform could result in $6 billion for the state. That’s a lot of money created by one bill.
If you believe that Fair Share Tax Reform is the way to go, contact Senator George Maziarz and Assemblyman Steve Hawley and ask them to support this movement. If you would like more information, visit www.fairsharereform.com.
This is a key moment in our state’s history and we have two paths: We can either cut funding for key programs that will impact millions of New Yorkers OR we can reform our tax system so that those who make more pay their fair share. The former would be devastating. The latter would be one of the greatest reforms implemented in modern New York State history.
