As city comptroller, I recognize that times are tough for all New Yorkers. At a time when people are losing their jobs, homes or health care and they require more assistance from our great city, we face a shrinking budget and sharp cutbacks in state support.
Simply put, there are no easy solutions to the problems we face.
But the financial plan announced by Mayor Michael Bloomberg seeks to balance the budget on the backs of working people. He has presented a proposal that relies far too heavily on a sales tax increase at a time when the city’s hardworking families and small businesses are suffering.
In order to better combat this growing budget gap, I propose an increase in the city’s personal income tax focused on high−income taxpayers earning more than $500,000 annually. This tax would be temporary and could be removed when our city enters better fiscal times.
President Barack Obama has said that we all have a shared responsibility to get our economy going again, and I agree. We must take steps to get credit flowing again, reopen businesses and put people back to work.
William C. Thompson Jr.
City Comptroller
Manhattan
