Tax Reform Plan Passes; Puts More $ in Middle Class Pockets 

Reform Package to Spur Job Creation; Includes Klein Initiative to Help Parochial Schools

Senator Jeffrey D. Klein,  last night voted to bring a more fair and progressive tax system to New York that will cut taxes for middle class taxpayers and have the wealthy pay their fair share.

“This plan puts more money in the pockets of hard-working middle class New Yorkers and creates a common-sense tax structure where a billionaire will no longer get taxed at the same rate as his butler,” Senator Klein said. “The other members of the Independent Democratic Conference and I are proud to have worked with our partners in government to place progress over partisanship and help put New York back on the right track.”

The new tax structure – which is similar to a plan Senator Klein developed in 2009 – was part of a larger reform package aimed at getting New York's economy moving again.

Part of this initiative includes Senator Klein's legislation to put parochial schools on equal footing with public schools by holding them harmless them from the MTA payroll tax.

The tax plan includes a tax break for some 4.4 million middle class taxpayers. A breakdown is below:

Income Level	Previous Tax Rate	New Tax Rate
$40,000 to $150,000	6.85%	6.45%
$150,000 to $300,000	6.85%	6.65%
$300,000 to $2 million	7.85% - 8.97%	6.85%
Over $2 million	8.97%	8.82%

Among other elements, the plan includes:

• Creating New York's first-ever infrastructure fund to inject more than $1 billion in job creating investment.
  

The accelerated state funding will leverage $10 billion in direct capital investment to create thousands of direct jobs by rebuilding roads and bridges; parks, dams and flood control projects; upgrading water systems and educational facilities; and investing in energy efficient improvements to commercial and residential buildings. The plan will focus on projects that support regional Economic Development Plans in the transportation, energy, environment and public facilities sectors. The accelerated infrastructure fund investment is within the state's debt ceiling. 

• Enacting an Inner City Youth Employment Program and Tax Credit
  
  The Governor and the legislative leaders agreed to create an inner-city youth employment program and a $25 million tax credit for employers who hire unemployed youth between 16 and 24 years of age over the first six months of 2012. The program and credit would be available to employers in businesses such as clean energy, healthcare, advanced manufacturing and conservation. Eligible employers would receive up to $3,000 for a six month training period and an additional $1,000 if they retained their workers for an additional six months. 
  
  Nearly $37 million in funding will be provided to critical jobs programs for inner city youth. This includes $12 million in support grants to youth providers for work readiness training, occupational training, placement or job matching, workplace mentoring and follow up services to increase retention. Participating youths will be provided with up to three monthly stipends of $300 each to cover costs associated with transitioning into the workplace. An additional $25 million will be appropriated for workforce skills training and support programs including digital literacy, basic education and occupational training, summer youth employment, job search and placement, and facilitated child care enrollment. 

• Reducing the MTA Payroll Tax
  
  The payroll tax would be eliminated or reduced for 294,900 taxpayers overall. The tax would also be eliminated from an additional 415,000 taxpayers by raising the self-employment income exemption.

In addition, private elementary and secondary schools, as well as parochial schools, would be exempt from the tax. The State would compensate the MTA for the $250 million in lost revenue.