New York Millionaires Offer to Pay Extra Taxes to Offset Budget Cuts

MANHATTAN -- Millionaires across New York State are banding together to ask for more taxes.

About 100 wealthy New Yorkers, including actor Mark Ruffalo, say they want to do their part to help the state out of its budget crisis, and they are encouraging Gov. Andrew Cuomo to extend the so-called millionaire's tax.

"Many of us New Yorkers are troubled that you're giving a $5 billion tax cut to 2 percent of New York's most wealthy, while cutting $9 billion from education and social services for the rest of New Yorkers," Ruffalo said in an online video addressing Cuomo.

"Please, ditch this backwards Robin Hood plan and give all New Yorkers a fair shake."

The millionaire's tax, which is slated to expire in April, takes about an extra 2 percent in state taxes from individuals making over $200,000 a year or families making over $300,000.

A group called New Yorkers for Fiscal Fairness sent an open letter with about 100 signatures to Cuomo and state legislators Thursday urging them to renew the tax to avert the budget cuts.

Donald Shaffer, 82, an Upper East Side resident who worked in insurance and serves on the board of the Civil Liberties Union, said he signed the letter because he would be glad to pay the extra tax.

"This is what is decent and sensible as part of the social contract," Shaffer said in a phone interview Thursday. "We've done very well in our society, and we should be happy to see to it that others who require public services are not short-changed."

Cuomo's spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Cuomo and Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who oppose extending the tax, have said they worry it would drive wealthy New Yorkers out of the state, but Shaffer said that was "absurd."

"The mayor has not left," Shaffer pointed out.

Shaffer added that the recently extended Bush tax cuts would remove most of the burden of the millionaire's tax, so it would not have a large impact on people's finances.

The United Federation of Teachers and lower Manhattan parents are also advocating for the state to extend the tax, so the city doesn't get hit with over $1 billion in cuts to education funding.

Other rich city residents who signed onto the open letter include Bill Samuels, a Democratic activist and entrepreneur, and Leo Hindrey Jr., chairman of the Economic Growth/Smart Globalization Initiative at the New American Foundation.

READ MORE AT DNAINFO.COM

Comments

[Cougar31]

05:42 AM on 03/29/2011

The zone around Central Park should pay 4X more property tax.

[rich500]

12:13 AM on 03/28/2011

Everyone that signed these letters or joined these groups could give without it being a charitable contribution. Just eliminate their deductions. Then they would pay more tax and it would be in the budget. If these limousine liberals wanted to help the average person they would cut their fees for making movies and in their contract make sure the savings are passed on to the consumer.

[Scott Wood]

01:52 AM on 03/28/2011

If they weren't total hypocrites, they'd move out of their big houses, sell their expensive cars and give up their rent controlled penthouses.

[Scott Wood]

10:36 PM on 03/27/2011

Two things. One, regarding the quote: "Please, ditch this backwards Robin Hood plan and give all New Yorkers a fair shake." It is important to point out that what the modern myth of Robin Hood says is that he stole from oppressive government to give back to the people who earned it.
Two, there is nothing stopping these 100 people from giving to government. I'm sure the greedy politicos will gobble it up and waste it just as efficiently as taxes. But how is their 'willingness' translated to forcing others to do the same?

[GinaMariaSpaghetti]

08:49 AM on 03/28/2011

I think you'll find the 100 are all wealthy who earned their money and would do so again, if required. Those who are determined to hold on come He!! or high water are the ones who inherited and couldn't earn a nickel, if pressed. As for force, really? What about forcing kids into classrooms with inadequate staffing and too many children? One way or another, someone is "forced" to something but you seem more sympathetic to the plight of the poor, widdle, wealthy person.

[TimeMaster]

08:10 PM on 03/27/2011

A commendable gesture from 100 wealthy people who also have common sense. A rare combination seeing the potential class warfare and tactics by a few in positions of power that are steadily taking away from those who are not rich.

Now if only the other 9900 super rich would care as much to do the same.

[inorbit]

07:51 PM on 03/27/2011

How about making those hedge fund managers who make billions but are only taxed at 15% because it's all capital gains pay the going rate for their tax bracket, instead. That alone would pull in a huge amount for the schools and safety forces of NYC!

[inorbit]

07:46 PM on 03/27/2011

Wow! People who actually care about other people! This makes my day!

[miamorphos]

06:47 PM on 03/27/2011

It is a law of economic policy that you can only get money from people who have money. The wealthy must be forced to pay taxes, at least twenty percent of their income, if the gov't is going to continue guaranteeing the property and markets and investments of the wealthy. It costs a lot of money to provide airports, highways, policemen, investment regulators, etc., to keep the wealthy happy. Make them pay for it! No tax shelters!

[O Dannyboy]

05:00 PM on 03/27/2011

Extend it, hell.

Double it.

There you have ten billion dollars for the state just from asking these billionaires to contribute an extra 4%. It won't affect any of the lifestyles one little bit but it will restore th3e whole $9bn in cuts and provide another billion to pay of state debts.

[polly tick]

09:43 PM on 03/27/2011

""The avg Wisconsin taxpayer who earns approx 50k/yr (salary and benefits), is responsibl­­e for 100% of his/her healthcare costs."

There is not one person in Wisconsin outside of the unionized teachers who enjoys any employer participat­ion at all in their health care coverage?

This is obviously and blatantly false.

So you just come here to post blatantly obvious falsehoods­? WTF? It is important to you that all who read your posts know that you are a liar who comes here primarily to lie?

That's okay, I guess. Pretty weird, though.

But of course you are here at someone else's command. A lackey. Posting the (dishonest­) talking points you are told to post, through this and other sockpuppet HP accounts.

Sad. Do some networking­, bro. Try to find some honest work."

O Dannyboy,
Your simplistic analysis makes it sound as though the employer is benevolently donating healthcare to the employee. An employee does not "enjoy" "employer participation" in their health care coverage. The employee EARNS the coverage. Whatever the arrangement, the employee is paying for his/her healthcare, either directly with cash, or indirectly via the value of their work for the employer. It is a contract b/w two private entities as to how that arrangement is structured. Regardless of how that arrangement is structured, it NEVER involves forcing the employee's neighbor/taxpayer to compensate the employee in anyway, unlike public unions.

[O Dannyboy]

01:40 PM on 03/28/2011

So some guy who drives a truck for Acme Logistics earns the health benefits in his contract, but the guy who drives a truck for the state doesn't?

The description you provide for "An employee" applies in precisely the same way to a state employee or a private sector employee. No difference.

As for never forcing taxpayers to compensate the employee, the argument is an argument against any pay for any government employee, union or not. The taxpayer compensates them all.

Now that you've revealed the incoherence of your position, the incoherence of your arguments can be seen to be inevitable.

[polly tick]

10:05 PM on 03/27/2011

""A burden is never helpful", you say.

The gas, indeed the engine in your car is a burden for your car to carry. Therefore drain the gas and remove the quite heavy burden of the engine.

Test your newly-impr­oved-accor­ding-to-yo­ur-hypothe­sis car for a few weeks under various road and weather conditions­. Give it a good workout and collect lots of data.

Then please come back here and report just how conclusvel­y you have proven your hypothesis­.

Thanks"

O Dannyboy,

What a stupid analogy.

I can't believe I have to explain this but here it goes: It is not a car if it does not have an engine and gas.

If you want an apt experiment, let's try this: Take two identical brand new Ford F-150's. Now, place 2000 lbs of stone in one, and mandate that it carry that load for the lifetime of that truck. It is now taxed w/ a burden. If both vehicles travel the same exact routes for their respective lifetimes, which vehicle will perform better, and for a longer period of time? Which one will be more productive, the taxed truck or the nontaxed truck?

You actually have to have it explained to you that a burden is not helpful??!!! Please change your moniker. You are an embarassment to all Irish, living and deceased.

Thank You!

Best of luck Huffingsom Painter!

[O Dannyboy]

02:26 PM on 03/28/2011

Thanks for illustrating the underlying point. The engine and the taxes both "do things". Neither is dead weight.

Out on the trail your pack is a burden. Stop to set up camp and it is your food and shelter.
On tax day that bill is a burden but you rest in it's shade 365 days per year.

The fact that we happen to use commonly use the burden to describe taxes is neither here not there.

Take out the engine and you have no car.
Take out the taxes and you have no government--unless all the officials volunteer and provide all of their own "supplies". Like computers and office buildings and roads and army bases and cargo planes and stuff.

Loyal citizens will pay just taxes.

Disloyal corporations like GE and BoA won't, despite this radically activist Supreme Court's ontological cock-up which mistakes corporations for citizens when it is in the corporation's best interest. They'd rather shift the "burden" onto kids eligible for Headstart.

[TAMPA M]

11:57 AM on 03/27/2011

You can only take away so much from people that don't have anything, and when push begins to shove just think about Libya, Yemen, Egypt.

[Theatrixnyc]

08:42 AM on 03/27/2011

Mark could run for Mayor and be more effective than Bloomberg. Better representation for all....

[Max19th]

02:03 PM on 03/27/2011

Right, because Bloomberg pays the most taxes out of any individual in the state, and receives the least amount of government pay.

[Theatrixnyc]

11:10 AM on 03/28/2011

So pin a medal on him.....his interest in running the city has more to do for looking out for Mike, than it does in looking out for all New Yorkers. Why not let a Koch brother be President....would make it all so much easier.

[LibertyVini]

12:28 AM on 03/27/2011

They aren't offering to PAY the tax voluntarily, they are endorsing the law that empowers the state of New York to extract extra taxes from people people barely making a living wage in NYC. Check the cost of living in the Five Boroughs, $300,000 is a pittance, a cop and a nurse could easily be liable for an extra $6000 tax under this regime. The so-called "Millionaire's Tax" is actually a regressive tax on large numbers of working people.

[LibertyVini]

12:36 AM on 03/27/2011

Also, depending on the situation, most "millionaires" income dollars aren't taxed as wage income at all. I don't know what kinds income qualifies for the surtax, but I will bet that the average millionaire will pay something less than 2% of his entire income under it.

[lawman69]

04:33 AM on 03/27/2011

That's simply not correct. First of all, $300k is hardly just a "living wage," much less a "pittance" even in New York City—where the median income in 2006 was not quite $77,000. Second, you misunderstand (or misrepresent) how tax brackets work: if an additional 2% applies to income over $300k, that doesn't mean you pay extra on every dollar, only on dollars above the margin—so you'd have to make *$600k* to owe an extra $6,000.

[miamorphos]

06:49 PM on 03/27/2011

Remember that for Republicans, 300,000 is poverty -- unless it's a teacher, in which case it's six times what a wealthy teacher makes!

[inorbit]

07:48 PM on 03/27/2011

Thanks for explaining this to the dingbat. And can a cop and a nurse make $300,000 in NYC??? I WISH that was true!!

[b1llymo]

12:24 AM on 03/27/2011

I easily found a job after an honorable discharge from the U.S. Air Force. In 2006 I lost my job at Abbott after 16 years. Since then I have looked and applied for work diligently, not only applying for jobs associated with my experience but for anything I thought I could handle. I have received zero offers. I ended up losing my home, car, retirement account and most of my possessions. My unemployment ran out at the beginning of 2010 and I have lived off of what I had saved. On the first of March I used my last dollar for rent on a small room. Since then I have gone looking for some sort of aid to keep me from becoming homeless. I have contacted the Kenosha VA, Kenosha Community Action Agency, Catholic Charities, VFW, Purple Hearts, American Legion, United Way, Goodwill, Kenosha Mayor Keith Bosman even Senator Kohl's office and received NO help or assistance and in some cases no reply whatsoever. No one really seems to care. I don't know where else to turn. My sons can stay with their mother, but after next week it looks as if I will be joining the ranks of the homeless. My country gained my admiration seeing it work from the inside while I served it. Now I am gaining a new perspective of it from the unemployment line, food pantry and the homeless shelter.
-BM
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=R35VJJBDGL2LW

[O Dannyboy]

05:05 PM on 03/27/2011

This scam is such a disservice and dishonor to all og the people who actually find themselves in straights similar to those you describe.

With Wall St stealing millions at a time and grifters like you working the other end, one wonderw where we all will end up.

[Mark Slugocki]

05:33 PM on 03/28/2011

What a loser using the city of Kenosha knowing that the actor Mark Ruffalo is from Kenosha then putting a paypal account on your post ?

[keene]

06:22 PM on 03/26/2011

I love Mark Ruffalo. Great activist for fracking too.