Tag: tax fouondation

Unshackle Upstate, a non-partisan pro-taxpayer organization, has released a new fact sheet that highlights what it calls the burdens imposed on New York’s taxpayers.

“Taxed Out – Assessing New York’s Massive Tax Burden” features state-specific tax rankings from the Tax Foundation, the nation’s leading independent tax policy research organization.

“For far too long, New York’s taxpayers have carried a burden that is simply too heavy,” said Brian Sampson, Unshackle Upstate chairman and president of Associated Builders and Contractors. “Each year, tens of thousands of families flee New York for states with better tax climates. This situation is unsustainable and unconscionable. Without meaningful tax relief, our communities and economy will continue to struggle.”

According to the fact sheet, New York ranks first in state and local individual income tax collections per capita and for state and local tax burden. The state ranks fourth for state and local property tax collections per capita and fifth for combined state and average local sales tax rate.

Unshackle Upstate noted that some 1.4 million people have left the state in recent years. From 2010 through 2018, New Yorkers have fled to Florida more than any other state, the group said. Florida is “one of the most taxpayer-friendly and pro-business states in the nation,” the fact sheet states.

Florida also is the top retirement state for individuals seeking its warm weather year-round, according to SmartAsset and WalletHub.

“When you look at where we rank on these key taxes, it’s easy to understand why more than 1 million New Yorkers have left the state over the last decade,” Sampson said. “Raising taxes, as many special interests and officials have called for, will only worsen New York’s economic and outmigration crises.”

In its fact sheet, Unshackle Upstate notes that the Tax Foundation’s State Business Tax Climate Index, which provides an annual analysis of key tax rankings for each state, has ranked New York 48th or lower every year for the last decade.

In September, Unshackle Upstate released its “Fast Forward – A Rapid Recovery Plan for the Upstate Economy,” which provides a pro-growth agenda that included several tax relief proposals designed to accelerate upstate’s economic recovery.

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