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WHY NEW YORK SHOULD GET RID OF INCOME TAX
Why New York Should Get Rid Of Income Tax By Charles Forman
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or too long, New York City has been on the decline. Crime is up, businesses are failing, and many citizens are finding that the government has not been working for them. Due to these circumstances, New York’s population is leaving in drones. To maintain our status as the Empire State, we must change our course of action. With a corrupt Governor and an incompetent mayor in office, our leadership is failing us. New York State has over nineteen million residents from all walks of life. As one of the most diverse cities in the world, New York City has become a model for what other cities should be. However, in the past year, that has changed. To get New York back on track to its glory days, I am proposing that the state follow the fiscal policy of states like Florida and Texas, where they do not impose an income tax on their people. With the average rent in Manhattan being $3,628 a month, it is difficult for those earning under $145,000 a year to live comfortably. In the fiscal year of 2020, there were over 122,000 homeless people, including children, in New York City, many of which have taken to the streets in tents and under scaffolding. As the gold standard of cities in the United States, how has the government allowed this crisis to happen? The answer is through high income taxes and little support for those who cannot afford the high rents and costs of living expenses. When taken into account with other expenses such as food, water, utilities, and transportation, it is becoming financially unlivable for many. The response has been a mass exodus, so much so that, during the last census, New York lost a seat in the United
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States House of Representatives. With so many facing financial hardship, getting rid of income tax could be the solution to our woes. When thinking about our state’s policy, the main idea I thought of is to follow the states where our fellow citizens have fled to. Many see states like Texas, Florida, and Nevada as a golden standard of living. For all intents and purposes, take Houston, Texas, the fourth biggest city in the United States. In Houston, the average cost of a house is $210,000 and the average salary is $72,000 a year according to payscale. In New York City, the average salary is $93,196, according to Smartasset, with the median home price being $916,000. Comparing the average price of a home to the average salary in New York City vs. Houston, the cost of a home is 3 times the average salary, while the average salary is only 1.2x as large. Another example of a lower cost of living brought on by no income tax is Florida. In 2019, the poverty rate in Florida was 12.7%, while in New York, the poverty rate was 13%, according to Statista. While these percentages are close, this is despite the fact that the population of Florida is larger than that of New York. A possible reason for this is that Florida does not have state or local income taxes. New York could greatly benefit from getting rid of income tax. Currently, even those who earn less than $8,500 a year have to pay 4% of their salary to income tax. That does not even include local or federal income. Income taxes already place strain on those earning minimum wage, who struggle to afford basic necessities. While programs like Section-8 housing have eased the burden on lower-income earners, it prevents those in the lowest income brackets from saving money for retirement, because they have less money they can put into their savings account, which means less money to invest and grow wealth. This proposal could create a fi-
nancial burden on the state’s budget. New York has been a safe haven to some lower-income earners and immigrants due to our rigorous social programs, and we would not need to get rid of these programs if we were to get rid of the income tax. While income tax does make up 62% of the state budget, we could raise property tax rates for residential homes in high-income earning areas. This would allow lower-income earners to save more money and have more money to spend on their needs. Raising sales taxes would also benefit our state while not taking as much income because most sales taxes are for wants, and not needs. After getting rid of the income tax, we could make up for it in the budget by raising the capital gains tax, as well as estate, real estate, and sales taxes. This would ease the financial burden of taxes for those in the lower-income bracket, and give them more money to spend on things they need. Eventually, they would be able to purchase homes and make other investments that could lift them out of poverty and allow them to have a better quality of life here in the Empire State. In turn, this would help small businesses and allow for larger investment into businesses, which would raise employment and not force more than 1 percent of the biggest city population into homelessness. By getting rid of income tax, we can help the lower-earners take in more money, allowing them to spend it on things they need: food, shelter, and transportation. However, getting rid of income is not easy, which is why I would propose raising the real estate tax, sales tax, and capital gains and estate taxes. This would ease the burden on the lower-income taxpayers, while simultaneously stimulating the economy and making our state more attractive to high-income earners. By enacting these policies, lower-income earners can begin to build wealth and become the common core foundation of our state’s economy.
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