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The Bush Tax Cuts. the 15% bracket would be, lowered to 10% the 28% bracket would be lowered to 25% the 31% bracket would be lowered to 28% the 36% bracket would be lowered to 33% the 39.6% bracket would be lowered to 35%.
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The Bush Tax Cuts • the 15% bracket would be, lowered to 10% • the 28% bracket would be lowered to 25% • the 31% bracket would be lowered to 28% • the 36% bracket would be lowered to 33% • the 39.6% bracket would be lowered to 35%
In recent years, the richest New Yorkers have taken a bigger share of total state income Part of NY State income that goes to the richest 1% of New Yorkers
The U.S. has more billionaires than any other country. NYC has more billionaires than any other city.
Job creation under Bush George W. Bush: 3.0 million jobs created, 375,000 jobs per year in office. Bill Clinton: 23.1 million jobs created, 2,900,000 jobs per year in office.
Governor Cuomo wants to close a $10 billion deficit by: • Cutting $2 billion from Medicaid, reducing services for poor patients. • Cutting $2 billion in aid to K-12 schools, causing thousands of teachers and school workers to be laid off and resulting in larger class sizes and fewer services for students. • Laying off more than 10,000 state workers. • Slashing funding for SUNY and CUNY campuses, including $95.1 million from CUNY’s senior campuses and a 10% cut in state funding for CUNY’s community colleges. • Forcing city and state workers to accept wage freezes, and to pay more toward health premiums and pensions – in short, a substantial wage cut for employees.
In 2009, the NYS legislature passed a small personal income tax surcharge on the wealthiest residents: • For households earning over $300,000, the marginal tax rate increased from 6.85% from 7.85%. This higher rate applies only to income over $300,000. • For households earning over $500,000, the marginal tax rate increased from 6.85% to 8.97%. The new top rate applies only to income above half a million. • 75% of the taxes taken in by the surcharge was paid by people earning more than $1 million a year.
Andrew Cuomo wants the “millionaire’s tax” to expire on December 31, 2011 • Extending the surcharge would add $1 billion to state revenue in fiscal year 2011-2012. • Extending the surcharge would add $5 billion in fiscal year 2012-2013. • The extra revenue would lower the state deficit and reduce cuts to education and health care. • 64% of New Yorkers want the surcharge on high incomes to be extended. (Marist poll, 2/11)
A Stock Transfer Tax has been law since 1905 • The tax is no more than 5 cents per traded share, with a maximum of $350 per transaction. A billion shares are traded daily. • However, since 1981, the tax has been 100% rebated to the stock buyers. • Last year, the rebate was worth $14.5 billion. • If 50% of the tax was rebated, the state would have $7.2 billion annually in additional revenues. • If we add the revenue from the millionaire’s tax to that of the stock transfer tax, the extra revenue would entirely eliminate the deficit and provide a surplus to be used to improve schools, mass transit and other services.
What does it mean to redistribute wealth To pay for the services we need – schools, hospitals, day care, transit – and for livable wages and benefits (including pensions and medical coverage) we can demand a radical redistribution of wealth by: • Sharply increasing federal, state and local taxes on the very wealthy. • Sharply increasing taxes on large corporations, including the big banks and investment firms. • Ending all spending on wars of occupation –including the “oil wars” in Iraq and Afghanistan. Starve the bloated military-industrial complex.
Influencing politics The billionaires and millionaires in the U.S. – the owners of big companies and banks – use a fraction of their tremendous wealth to: • Finance and control the agenda of the major political parties. • Spend billions to hire lobbyists to advocate for pro-business legislation. • Fund think-tanks (e.g., Manhattan Institute) to write reports sympathetic to big business interests.
Beware of pretty names! One such group is the Committee to Save New York: • CSNY is a project of the Real Estate Board of NY (REBNY), which represents wealthy real estate interests in NYC. • REBNY officials – like Steven Spinola and Rob Speyer – sit on the board of directors of CSNY. • 26 members of REBNY’s board donated $10,000 or more to Andrew Cuomo’s gubernatorial campaign. • REBNY has lobbied for years for lower taxes on big business and high-end earners. • Real estate magnates like Rob Speyer contributed $10 million for CSNY’s publicity campaign to support Cuomo’s plan to cut taxes on the wealthy, lay off state workers and reduce benefits to public employees.
Corporate Influence The owners of the big corporations control politics at the federal, state and city level by: • Donating billions to the campaigns of politicians, electing those who are most pro-business, and punishing those who are not as friendly to business needs. • Hiring thousands of full-time lobbyists who “help” elected officials write laws regulating the companies the lobbyists represent. • Promising lucrative jobs to politicians and regulators when they retire from their government positions.
How to get involved? 80,000 Wisconsin workers rally at the State Capitol to protest anti-labor legislation; thousands occupy the capitol building
