New York City Council Members Brad Lander and Melissa Mark-Viverito have an op-ed in the Gotham Gazette calling for two new high-income tax brackets in order to mitigate large budget cuts:
We propose adding two additional tax brackets for high-income earners -- one for joint-filers earning income over $250,000 (to be taxed at 1.2 percent) and another for those earning income over $500,000 (to be taxed at 1.8 percent). For a household earning $500,000, this would mean just $1,000 more per year. By putting these reforms in place, the city can generate over $1 billion in new revenues, while reducing the tax burden on families earning under $40,000 (who are already exempt from federal taxes).
Personally, I think there should be another bracket for people who earn a million a year, but that's not the main point. While an added billion per year will not completely close the budget gap and will still require budget cutting but it would make things that much better. Even though Bloomberg is opposed to this, the Democrats in the Council have a super-majority and should use that leverage to push for some version of a more progressive income tax. |
