New York City Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, a probable Democratic candidate for mayor next year, proposed an tax increase on residents earning more than $500,000 a year to pay for extended school hours.
De Blasio, 51, elected in 2009 to the watchdog post, told the Association for a Better New York that the surcharge would raise $532 million for all-day prekindergarten classes and extended hours in middle schools. He said the city needed to boost education funding to keep pace with emerging nations such as China and India.
The surcharge would run for five years, de Blasio said. Residents with more than $500,000 in income would pay a tax rate of 4.3 percent, up from 3.876 percent. Someone earning $750,000 a year would pay an additional $1,060; a $1 million earner would see a $2,120 increase; and those making $2 million would pay $6,360 more.
The tax would affect about 1 percent, or 44,200, of city taxpayers, with an average income of $2.7 million, de Blasio’s office said. To close budget deficits, the city imposed a surcharge on incomes above $150,000 per household from 2003 to 2005 and increased property taxes 18.5 percent.
If approved by the City Council and state legislature, the surcharge would provide $291 million for pre-K; $190 million for extended middle-school classes and $50 million for leased space and other expenses, de Blasio said.
My prediction...... this proposal will be DEAD ON ARRIVAL! I'm not for or against the proposal. However, I know that the politicians will not tax their friends and neighbors more in NYC.
1 comment:
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