Archive for April, 2006

State Must Make Taxes Fair Again

By: Alan B. Lubin, Executive Vice President of New York State United Teachers and BALCONY Board Member
Sunday, April 30, 2006-Albany Times Union

When it comes to state income taxes, what do gas station attendants or retail clerks, struggling to pay bills and keep their homes, have in common with billionaire Donald Trump?

Well, because of New York’s misguided tax policies, Donald Trump and middle-class teachers, salesmen, auto mechanics and cops in the Capital Region pay state income taxes at the same rate.

Working families worrying about their rising property taxes and Wall Street’s wealthiest financiers, who worry about whatever multimillionaires worry about, pay the same top rate of 6.85 percent, a tax bracket that kicks in at just $40,000 in adjusted income for married couples.