Assemblymember Shrestha And Colleagues Rally in Albany in Support of Bills That Would Tax the Wealthiest to Generate $40 Billion in Revenues

Albany, NY: Assemblymember Sarahana Shrestha (D-Esopus) joined colleagues and advocates in Albany today to call for taxing the ultra-rich and raising $40 billion to pay for programs that would give New Yorkers the quality of life they deserve, such as housing security, clean energy and lower utility bills, universal childcare, free SUNY and CUNY, and more. Of the five revenue bills that are in the package, AM Shrestha is carrying the Corporate Tax bill with Assemblymember Anna Kelles and Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal. Corporate tax is the third-biggest source of revenues for the state, after personal income tax and sales tax, and this bill aims to raise $9 billion by creating new rates for the wealthiest corporations. The rates apply to profits, not gross income, and affect a small number of large corporations.

“New York has an economy the size of Canada, its GDP is higher than that of countries like Sweden and the Netherlands, and yet New York is ranked the most unequal state in the United States,” said Shrestha, “It also ranks 2nd in homelessness, 2nd in cost of living, 29th for economic well-being of children, and 49th in state and local education funding equity. To make our way out of this disparity and build a future of care, well-being, and dignity, we need to circulate our collective wealth by taxing the rich. Low and moderate-income households are not getting the quality services they should be getting in return for their share of taxes, because the rich aren’t paying enough of theirs. Corporate profits and the ultra-rich are holding hostage everything that New Yorkers deserve.”

According to recent polls, 94% of New York Democrats and 72% of Republicans1 support higher taxation of New York's wealthiest, including 74% of all Hudson Valley residents2

AM Shrestha was joined by dozens of legislators and organizers, including Senators Brad Hoylman-Sigal, Robert Jackson, and Gustavo Rivera, and Assemblymembers Zohran Kwame Mamdani, Emily Gallagher, Marcela Mitaynes, Jessica González-Rojas, Juan Ardila, Steven Raga, Khaleel Anderson, and Ron Kim.

The tax proposals will need to pass as part of the state’s FY2024 budget. The Governor presented her executive budget on February 1st, and after this week’s budget hearings conclude, the Senate and the Assembly will need to present their versions and enter a period of negotiations with the Governor. The final budget will need to be passed by April 1st.

  1. Polling source: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1eO5DV0lQQ_ezTKvIIeONvFDM-ZvAhklF/edit#slide=id.p6
  2. Polling source: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1L_HEtaAjDEzoIChZOeWQK-lNhVPm617QXF06jlkQ9rU/edit#slide=id.g1c09c9a500e_2_615