Senate Bill S4699

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S4699

SPONSOR: BRISPORT
 
TITLE OF BILL:

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION OF THE SENATE AND ASSEMBLY repealing section 3 of
article 16 of the constitution, relating to the taxation of moneys,
credits, securities and other intangible personal property in the state
that is not employed in carrying on any business therein

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends section 3 of article XVI of the New York State Consti-
tution, which currently prohibits taxation of intangible property, in
order to permit the ad valorem taxation of moneys, credits, securities,
undistributed profits, and other intangible personal property deemed to
be domiciled within the state for the purposes of taxation.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

New York is an exceptionally wealthy state. Treated as a separate coun-
              

try, it would have one of the world's largest economies. With such a
strong economy, all New Yorkers should have fundamental economic rights:
access to high-quality education, affordable healthcare, guaranteed
housing, and basic social services and social insurance. New York must
also finance investments in green energy, green jobs, and green infras-
tructure in order to mitigate the catastrophic risks of climate change.

Unfortunately, New York is also the most unequal state in the nation.
In part this is because our tax system has not kept pace with changes in
the economy, leaving the many high-earning professionals and wealthy
families in this state undertaxed. Economic growth from recent decades
has overwhelmingly benefited a small segment of elites, while infla-
tion-adjusted wages have stagnated for the vast majority of working
people since the 1970s. The state government, lacking adequate tax
revenues, has been unable to afford essential public investment and
social spending, including upgrading our infrastructure, repairing
public housing, protecting public education, and financing Medicaid.

Today, New York is the most unequal state in the nation. Moreover, the
state government has been unable to afford essential public investment
and social spending, including updating our infrastructure, repairing
public housing, protecting public education, and financing Medicaid.

The New York State Constitution currently prohibits a comprehensive
wealth tax that taxes ownership of intangible assets such as stocks and
bonds. This is what we generally think of a tax on wealth: a tax that
applies to a person's total net assets. It is important to realize that
the real property tax is, in effect, a tax on just that part of a
person's wealth that consists of real property. For many middle-income
New Yorkers, homeownership is the primary form of wealth accumulation.
Consequently, the real property tax is essentially a wealth tax that
disproportionately impacts middle-income New Yorkers. For the wealthy,
who accumulate vast amounts of financial assets, the property tax is in
effect a tax on a very small portion of their wealth.

We live in times of extreme economic inequality, in which a handful of
families and individuals have accumulated previously unthinkable levels
of wealth. A wealth tax, unlike an income tax, targets this accumulated
wealth. It can be both a source of revenue and a means of reducing the
economic inequality that threatens the stability of our democracy and
keeps millions of working people living near the poverty line, indebted
just to pay for basic expenses and healthcare.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

This bill will have no effect on revenue or spending.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This bill is effective immediately after passage in two consecutive
legislative sessions and upon approval by the voters of the state of New
York.