New York State Is Set to Raise Taxes on Those Earning Over $1 Million

The deal, a sign of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s weakened influence, would mean wealthy New York City residents would pay the highest combined local tax rate in the nation.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and New York State legislative leaders were nearing a budget agreement on Monday that would make New York City’s millionaires pay the highest personal income taxes in the nation, a stark result of the pandemic’s economic fallout.

For years, Mr. Cuomo resisted such a move, arguing that raising taxes, especially on the wealthy, would drive business out of state. But the coronavirus-related revenue shortfalls — combined with the growing strength of the Legislature’s progressive wing and the governor’s waning influence — created sudden momentum.

If enacted, the deal would raise income and corporate taxes to generate an extra $4.3 billion a year and would potentially legalize mobile sports betting to raise an additional $500 million in new tax revenue.

Under the proposed new tax rate, the city’s top earners could pay between 13.5 percent to 14.8 percent in state and city taxes, when combined with New York City’s top income tax rate of 3.88 percent — more than the top marginal income tax rate of 13.3 percent in California, currently the highest in the nation.

Source: The New York Times