Crain's New York Business has published an article concerning how "Occupy Wall Street has stoked popular support for keeping the state income tax surcharge on couples earning more than $300,000 and singles making more than $200,000."
On the website, some comments that follow the article are not in support of Occupy Wall Street, calling the movement one of "anti-capitalists" and reminding the reader that "We don't live in Communist Russia, or even Europe." (Gee, thanks for that.)
It's a bit more complicated though. The issue at hand is a state income tax surcharge on singles making more than $200,000, not an issue of someone actually making more than $1,000,000 annually, and not an issue of a federal proposal. (That's obvious, but I point it out because, I suspect, that most people think of a federal-level proposal when they here "millionaire tax). What is more, only a year ago a study--also cited in Crain's--showed that if one lives in Mahattan, one has to earn $100,000 annually to be considered to have entered into the middle-class: such is the very high cost of living and the concentation of wealth on the island.
Anyway, here is the beginning of the article:
Almost three-quarters of New York voters favor a tax on millionaires, a poll found, days after several hundred people marched to the homes of some of New York City's richest financiers to protest economic inequality.
Support for taxing wealthier people breached party lines, with 83% of Democrats and 55% of Republicans in favor, according to the Siena College Research Institute poll released Monday. A separate poll released by Quinnipiac University showed New York City voters support an extension of the tax by 61% to 28% percent, with Republicans favoring it by 55% to 38%.
Also Monday, a broad coalition of labor, advocacy and community groups launched what they say will be a statewide campaign to pressure Albany lawmakers to extend the tax, which, despite the millionaire moniker, targets high-income New York married couples earning more than $300,000 and singles earning more than $200,000.
“It is impossible to believe that at such a time like this we'd let the tax expire,” said George Gresham, president of 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East. “We cannot continue to allow the 1% on top to keep getting more and more of the wealth while everyone else falls further behind.”
Read more: http://www.crainsnewyork.com/...