The 99 New York coalition burst onto the scene today. Its cause? Ending New York’s tax break for millionaires, scheduled to go into effect on December 31st. The campaign launch occurred at City Hall at 12noon. Similar news conferences were held in Albany and Buffalo, and more are scheduled tomorrow in other upstate cities.
Speaking at the news conference, Sunshine Ludder, Senior Economic Policy Strategist at the Center for Working Families, said:
“Governor Cuomo’s fears are unfounded: New York’s millionaires are here to stay. There’s no evidence that wealthy populations move to avoid paying taxes — but plenty of evidence that New York needs the $5 billion that our millionaires tax generates every year. In a time of real economic struggle, a millionaires tax cut would be particularly foolish. Instead of cutting taxes for the top 3-4 percent of New Yorkers, our leaders should use that tax revenue to create good jobs, educate our children and repair our state’s roads, bridges and transit systems.”
Check out more millionaires tax myths.
Representatives from these groups attended the launch: SEIU 1199, 32BJ, DC37, UFT, NYSUT, TWU, CWA, Coalition for the Homeless, Alliance for Quality Education, Make The Road NY, Citizen Action of NY, UnitedNY, the Strong Economy for All Coalition, the Working Families Party, New York Communities for Change, Fiscal Policy Institute, Center for Working Families, New York State AFL-CIO, NYC CLC and GrowingTogetherNY.
