Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele, Jr. (I, D, WF-Sag Harbor) announced the Assembly budget proposal seeks to help workers and their families get ahead through paid family leave and tax cuts, while asking New York’s wealthiest to pay their fair share (E.1047).

“The Assembly budget proposal includes a number of measures – most notably 12 weeks of paid family leave – to help working and middle-class families,” said Thiele. “In order to help fund our schools and fix crumbling infrastructure, we’re asking millionaires and billionaires to pay a little more so we can ensure a better future for New York families.”

Under the Assembly’s paid family leave proposal, private employers would offer a paid family leave benefit financed by a maximum 45-cent contribution per week by employees. This small contribution would afford workers a maximum of 12 weeks of paid family leave at two-thirds of the employee’s salary – as long as it doesn’t exceed 67 percent of the state’s average weekly wage – and provide employment security during an absence.

“By instituting paid family leave, workers can take time off to care for a loved one without sacrificing their financial security,” Assemblyman Thiele said. “No one should be forced to choose between a paycheck and their family’s well-being.”

The Assembly budget also includes reforms to the tax code, including applying the current top personal income tax rate to all New Yorkers earning $1 million or more, increasing the rate for those earning above $5 million, and implementing a higher rate for those earning above $10 million. Additionally, the plan provides middle-class tax relief to over 5 million taxpayers. The expansion of the “Millionaire’s Tax” would generate an additional $2 billion in tax revenue annually compared to the current tax rate structure.

In an effort to help those attempting to climb the ladder to the middle class, the proposal expands the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) over two years, benefiting more than 1.6 million working families. Enacted in 1975 during the Ford administration, the EITC ¬¬¬– which is complemented by a similar state program ¬– continues to offer highly targeted tax relief for low-income earners who often struggle to meet the rising costs of living.

“The added revenue from the Assembly’s personal income tax reforms would help the state adequately address the state’s failing infrastructure and provide more funding for education at this critical time,” said Thiele. “By making our tax code more progressive, we can ensure that working families are better equipped to address the rising costs of health care and education.”