Op-Ed: New York continues to move tax rates in the wrongdirection

If, as the saying goes, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results, then mark New York’s state government down as insane. Wholly unwilling to learn from the past results of their tax and spend policies, the Empire State is doubling down by proposing to raise the top marginal tax rate in the state to the highest level in the country.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently proposed to raise the top marginal tax rate in the state from 8.82 percent to 10.86 percent, leaving New York with the highest combined state and local tax rate at 14.7 percent. Evidently, New York still thinks it can tax its way to fiscal sustainability.

Despite demanding $15 billion from the federal government, Cuomo still put forward a fiscal 2022 budget that proposes to spend $192.9 billion. Of course, despite proposing a budget with the largest infrastructure plan in the country at $306 billion, including $29 billion in green energy investments, Cuomo couldn’t find anything to cut before resorting to tax increases.

If Cuomo continues New York’s habit of treating its residents like cattle, New Yorkers might just try to move to greener pastures. Between 2017 and 2018 alone, New York lost a net total of over 76,000 residents to other states. That translated to a net loss of $9.6 billion in adjusted gross income from the state’s tax base.
But the trickle could soon turn into a flood. As a result of the coronavirus, millions across the country have been thrust into remote work arrangements that mean they aren’t commuting to the big office building downtown. While many will return to their offices once the pandemic has abated, many analysts believe that remote work will become much more common in the future.