Why Albany Needs to Listen to Unions and Pass Axe for the Tax Working Class this Budget Cycle
New Yorkers disagree on a lot, but there’s one thing we can all agree on: it’s too expensive to raise a family in New York City. I hear this constantly from many of the union members I represent. My members are the friendly faces you saw at brick-and-mortar and retail shops during the holiday season. The ones who work the entire food chain from farm to table, and everything in between. We’re in nearly every sector from nonprofits to health care to the public sector. My members embody the story of countless working-class New Yorkers who drive our city’s economy – not only during the holiday season but all times of year.
While we power the city, we can often feel powerless as the city becomes too expensive to raise a family and make ends meet. We’re the beating heart of the five boroughs and beyond, yet too many of us are struggling to get by. As families continue leaving the city due to high prices, something must be done to keep New Yorkers in New York City – the city, that despite the cost, remains the greatest on the globe.
This budget cycle, Albany needs to take action and play a role in helping solve this crisis. We need Albany to “Axe the Tax for the Working Class.”
At the end of last year, New York City Mayor Eric Adams proposed a common-sense solution to a common problem facing New Yorkers. “Axe the Tax for the Working Class” aims to bring significant tax relief to working-class families and return over $63 million to more than 582,000 New Yorkers. The plan would eliminate the New York City Personal Income Tax for filers with dependents living at or below 150 percent of the federal poverty line, as well as lower city personal income taxes for filers immediately above that threshold too. If passed into law, Axe the Tax for the Working Class could bring relief to working-class families as soon as tax year 2025. It would deliver an average benefit of roughly $350 to households across New York City.
In plain English, this means money back in the pockets of my members and working-class families who need a boost in these tough economic times.
I’m not the only union leader backing this effort. Standing alongside Mayor Adams were my fellow union brothers and sisters at the Service Employees International Union, Local 32BJ, and Hotel & Gaming Trades Council, AFL-CIO. We’re all united by this effort because we know this proposal directly addresses the needs of working-class families.
For us, every dollar counts. Any proposal that helps our hard-working members and working-class families have a few extra dollars for rent, groceries, and everyday needs is a win in our books.
Albany cannot wait on the sidelines as the cost-of-living crisis continues to hurt too many New Yorkers. Now is the time to act. Right now, in front of our state lawmakers lies a path forward to provide a real solution. This budget cycle, our lawmakers need to listen to union voices and Axe the Tax for the Working Class.
Stuart Appelbaum is president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, UFCW.
