| For Immediate Release: March 30 , 2009 |
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For More Information: Karen Scharff , 518.465.4600 x 112 518.755.2269 (c) |
Citizen Action Applauds Leaders for Raising Income Taxes on Wealthy, Other Policies
Criticizes Delay of Court-ordered Education Funding
Albany, NY – Over the weekend, legislative leaders and the Governor announced compromise on the FY 2009-10 state budget, including a personal income tax increase on the wealthiest New Yorkers. Two new tax brackets will be added, for New Yorkers earning over $300,000 and $500,000 annually, which will result in over $4 billion in sorely needed revenue to assist in closing the $16+ billion deficit.
“Enacting Fair Share Tax Reform is the only responsible way to begin healing the economic wounds we’ve suffered across New York. For far too long, the wealthiest New Yorkers have avoided sharing in the sacrifice,” said Karen Scharff, Executive Director of Citizen Action of New York. “We applaud the legislature for taking action to restore fairness to New York’s tax code.”
“However, we’re extremely upset that the legislature came up short when it comes to New York’s kids. With no increase in court-ordered Campaign for Fiscal Equity state school aid, our kids are being asked to pay more than their fair share. The federal stimulus package helped make up a lot of the initially proposed cuts to education funding, but that money was a one-time deal, and it does not provide any of the additional dollars to achieve educational quality and equity. The state cannot continue to put off its constitutional obligation to fully and fairly fund our kids’ education,” said Scharff.
Throughout this year’s budget process, Citizen Action aggressively advocated for a number of other policies and reforms that were included in the budget:
- Advantage Funding for After-School Programs – The Executive Budget proposal included a 25% ($7 million) cut to Advantage funding for after-school programs, however the final budget will include a $5 million increase, putting Advantage funding at over $30 million, and preventing thousands of New York children from being shut out of after-school programs.
- Health Care – The budget includes authorization for the state to expand Family Health Plus coverage to those earning up to 200% of the federal poverty level, contingent on federal funding. The budget also includes significantly greater accountability for charity care funding, removed a proposed premium increase on the Medicaid buy-in for working people with disabilities, reformed the process to enroll in public health insurance programs, and maintained funding for cancer screening for the uninsured.
- Rockefeller Drug Law Reform – After years of fighting for the Rockefeller Drug Laws to be reformed, this budget will make a number of changes to the laws, including allowing nonviolent offenders to receive drug treatments, instead of a mandatory prison sentence.
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