The coronavirus crisis is taking its toll on the budgets of New York State, which has seen a fifth of its revenues have vanished.
This situation already projects a deficit of 61,000 million dollars for the next four years. That is why the most progressive Democrats, who are gaining weight in the current state legislature, have set their sights on buying and selling stocks to try to close the tax gap.
A hundred legislators consider that by valuing these operations, up to 13,000 million dollars could be raised to avoid the cut in public services, the dismissal of civil servants and prevent the social gap from increasing.
The bill introduced by Democrat Phil Steck calls for a 1.25 cent tax on the sale of a stock of five dollars or less that could be raised to five cents for a value that exceeds $ 20.
The proceeds would go to the New York general fund for the next three years. They would then be used to improve infrastructure works, with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority taking around 25 percent.
If passed, this tax would directly affect the top 10% of income, who according to a study by New York University professor Edward Wolff, owned 84% of outstanding shares in 2016.
The opposition of the financial industry to the bill is evident. Wall Street is responsible for 17% of state tax revenue and generating 181,200 jobs, some of which could be jeopardized if trading volume falls.
The Investment Company Institute (ICI) believes that this tax would harm millions of middle-income investors in mutual funds. In addition, a decision in this regard could cause the NYSE and its parent, IE, to consider moving their operations out of state.
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