Assemblymember Phil Steck (D-Colonie) announced that the Assembly state budget proposal includes important tax reforms. With the current tax code set to expire after 2017, the Assembly plans to increase the tax rate on the wealthiest New Yorkers, protect funding for vital services, help middle-class families, and move New York forward.

“Middle-class New Yorkers deserve a progressive tax code so that everyone pays their fair share, while preserving critical services and programs and investing in education,” Steck said. In 1980, the top 1% of income earners received 11.9% of the total income in this State. Today the top 1% earns 30.2%. “The vast majority of my constituents question why that needs to be so. It is time for those at the top to give back to society a little more in proportion to the benefit they have obtained.”

The Assembly budget proposal expands the state millionaires tax to ensure adequate and fair funding for education, health care and infrastructure. It implements previously approved middle-class tax cuts while re-establishing higher income tax rates for millionaires and multimillionaires earning as much as $100 million or more. Under the new tax structure, the state would generate $5.6 billion in additional revenue this year and $7 billion more than the executive’s proposal, Steck noted.

The proposal also expands the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) from the current 30 percent of the federal credit to 35 percent, helping lower taxes for working families. Additionally, the Assembly budget proposal includes measures to revert the state’s School Tax Relief (STAR) program back to an upfront reduction for all qualified homeowners on their school tax bill rather than having them wait for a refund check, so that they get the tax relief they deserve without added bureaucratic hassle.