Economy showing signs of revival with growth in NYC income tax revenues
April is the most important month financially as it is time for the people to file their income tax returns and to pay their taxes. According to the sources in the Mayor’s office, Income tax revenues of the NYC have increased a little from the last years figures which is indicative of the fact that hiring of employees may be on the rise. However, the there is still a shortfall of cash as far as the budget of the NYC is concerned which has typically been a deficit budget to the tune of billions of dollars for the last few years.
Though still early to say in concrete terms, the City Mayor’s coffers could see an extra $50-$60 million, which he can spend wisely when he presents the budget on Thursday. Refusing to elaborate, Mayoral spokesperson wrote through email that the updated tax collection figures will be revealed when the Mayor Michael Bloomberg presents the budget.
The income tax collected so far is about $700 million, which includes both the TDS and the taxes paid by the people. Rich individuals pay income tax to avoid penalties later on their capital gains. This figure is about $20 million more than the last year’s collection in the same period. This figure has been arrived at after having returned the refunds to the people. Refunds have also shown a decrease; from $544 million last year, they have come down to $504 million. This is an encouraging sign, say the economists, as it implies that people are hiring rather than firing employees.
The figures of the NYC compare favorably with that of the New York state, which has seen a similar trend this year. Its figures show that there has been a 20.5% increase in income tax payments this year. These are official figures, as they have been released by the department of Taxation and Finance on Monday.
New York State also witnesses a sharp rise in the income tax paid by rich individuals, which stands at $2.9 billion, up 9.9% from last years figures. Other two states, Pennsylvania and Virginia have also seen an increase in income tax revenues accrued by withholding.
However, the data from the New York State cannot be assumed to be a national phenomenon, as the data is affected by the presence of the Wall Street. So the pattern emerging from New York State cannot be taken as a national pattern. This could be due to the issuance of bonus checks by Wall Street in the month of February.