Let’s Take Back Billions in 2025 to Advance the Wellbeing of All New Yorkers
By Ray Rogers
It’s Time to End New York's Multi-Billion-Dollar Stock Transfer Tax Rebate To Wealthy Wall Streeters
While infrastructures throughout New York State are crumbling and critical public services are grossly underfunded or non-existent, the message for years emanating from the offices of Gov. Kathy Hochul, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins is "now is not the right time." Well, maybe now is not the right time for them but most certainly it is the "right time" for millions of suffering New Yorkers. In fact, it is long past time to pass newly revised Assembly Bill A1494-A (Phil Steck, chief sponsor) and Senate Bill S1237 (James Sanders, chief sponsor) repealing the NYS Stock Transfer Tax Rebate (STTR). Common sense, compassion, and fiscal responsibility demand nothing less.
Most New Yorkers are not privy to these bills that are languishing in the State legislature. From 1905 to 1981, New York collected a Stock Transfer Tax (STT) on corporate stock sales. The tax is miniscule, only about a quarter of one percent depending on the size of the transaction, but revenues add up on billions of sales annually. Astonishingly, since 1981 the state began giving back 100% of these badly needed revenues, now estimated to be $13-$20 billion annually or at least $52 million per trading day, to wealthy Wall Streeters.
New Yorkers pay up to 8.875% sales tax on most purchases ranging from household and personal care items to cars and electronics. Those taxes pay for critical public services from police and firefighters to schools, sanitation, healthcare, housing, transportation, public safety, and infrastructure repairs. So why is the state rebating billions of dollars collected from corporate stock sales back to wealthy financial institutions rather than applying those revenues to programs that promote social well-being for everyone?
Michael Kink, executive director of the Strong Economy for All Coalition on calling for the STT reinstatement pointed out, “For 75 years we raised billions and billions of dollars with this tax. It’s the money that funded SUNY. It’s the money that funded CUNY. It’s the money that funded Mitchell-Lama housing. All the good things that were built in mid-century New York were funded in significant part by this small sales tax on Wall Street stock trades.”
Why are repealing the STT Rebate bills not moving in Albany while the state, cities and towns are reeling from revenue deficits to fund critical public services? Why are the leaders of Citizens Budget Commission (CBC), Partnership for New York City (PFNYC) and the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) vehemently opposed to repealing the STT rebate?
The CBC claims that it is “serving the interests of the state's citizenry-at-large, rather than narrow special interests.” Nothing could be further from the truth. PFNYC claims its mission “is to mobilize our investors’ resources—their money, time and influence—to create jobs, spur new business creation and to expand opportunities for all of the city’s residents and neighborhoods.” If that were the case, why do they oppose repeal of the SST rebate which would add billions of dollars to fund social good while spurring local economies?
Should we listen to New York's labor leaders, scores of community-driven nonprofit groups, faith-based organizations and scholars calling for fiscal and social responsibility by repealing the STT rebate or do we follow the dictates of super wealthy corporate executives serving on the boards of the CBC, PFNYC and SIFMA? I'll name four of them, along with their 2020-2022 compensation, who are representative of the mindset of "Let them eat crumbs." Joseph Bae, Co-CEO KKR & CO. $675,440,272; Jamie Dimon, Chairman & CEO JPMorgan Chase $100,500,000; James Gorman, Executive Chairman Morgan Stanley $103,899,064; Stephen Schwarzman, Chairman & CEO Blackstone $499,784,231.
Not one of the corporations listed, contrary to their claims, act in a socially responsible manner. It would take a library of books to describe the unscrupulous and criminal behavior of these companies and the others in the forefront of opposing repeal of the STT rebate.
These corporate fat cats fit the definition of unbridled greed because of their apparent lack of empathy, obscene compensation, and their need to exploit and manipulate the tax system. Good Jobs First Violations Tracker documents government penalties against corporations and their subsidiaries since 2000. These penalties are for serious offenses related to healthcare, government contracting, consumer protection, employment and competition. Violations run the gamut from kickbacks and bribery to price-fixing and anti-competitive practices.
The most penalized parent companies in America are represented on the CBC, PFNYC and SIFMA boards. They include: #1 Bank of America $87,320,969,499 in penalties; #2 JPMorgan Chase $40,164,908,209; #5 Wells Fargo $27,618,169,231; #12 Goldman Sachs $17,919,491,249; #17 Morgan Stanley $10,924,502,443.
Don’t be fooled by the fat cats. Collecting stock sales tax revenues to fund badly needed public services places no economic burden on any individual or family and will not affect the value of workers’ pension funds or cause an exodus of Wall Street firms and jobs. Wall Street speculators, who trade with high frequency, are the ones who will pay the vast bulk of the tax and that's good for New Yorkers especially in light of massive social service funding cuts expected under the Trump administration. Repealing the Stock Transfer Tax Rebate is the most important legislation to pass in 2025 that will advance the well-being of all New Yorkers regardless of their political party affiliation or income status.
Visit the website GreedvsNeed.org for more information and please contact your Assembly Member, State Senator and Governor Hochul ASAP to urge them to support passage of A1497 and S1237.
Under the newly amended bills, based on the low estimate of $13 billion collected each year from ending the Stock Transfer Tax Rebate, this is how the funds will be allocated:
*Transportation 35% or $4.55 billion invested in MTA, Highway and Bridge Capital (NYSDOT), Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program (CHIPS), Downstate Transit System, Upstate Transit System, AMTRAK in the Northeast corridor
*Climate Change/Environment/Resiliency/Clean Water 25% or $3.25 billion invested inClean Energy Fund (NYSERDA); Reforestation, Soil Conservation, Sustainable Agriculture, Parks; Safe Water and Infrastructure Action Program (includes resiliency and sewage)
*Education 15% or $1.95 billion with $1.3 billion invested in primary and secondary schools and $650 million invested in CUNY and SUNY
*Health 10% or $1.3 billion invested in health care and mental health
*Affordable Housing 10% or $1.3 billion with half invested in NYC Housing Authority (NYCHA) and half in NYS Homes and Community Renewal (HCR)
*Local Government Aid 5% or $650 million invested in Aid and Incentives for Municipalities (AIM) programs
Tell your legislators in the Assembly and State Senate to support Need over Greed by co-sponsoring Bills A1497 (Phil Steck, Lead Sponsor) and S1237 (James Sanders, Lead Sponsor).
Ray Rogers is director of the End STT Rebate Campaign/Corporate Campaign.