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How NYC's Richest One Percent Gets Taxed
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Apr 15, 2014
Modified Apr 15, 2014
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published Apr 15, 2014
Modified Apr 15, 2014
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Yesterday the city's Independent Budget Office released tax data from 2009-2011 and the resulting headlines were quick to point out how generous the rich were for paying 45.7% of the $7.2 billion in city tax revenue for 2011. "I appreciate those who contribute a lot to the city in terms of taxes, and many of them are very charitable on top of that," Mayor de Blasio said. But the 35,142 people who comprise NYC's One Percent (earning $548,412 annually) earned $91.1 billion in 2011, $89 billion of it taxable, accounting for 41.3% of all taxable income in the city.
The One Percent's $89 billion is a $15 billion increase from 2009, when they only earned $74 billion in taxable income—most of that increase was due to a surge in capital gains earnings. Recession's Over!
Meanwhile, adjusted gross incomes for New Yorkers making up to $100,000 either declined or stayed flat during the same time period—in 2011, 40% of all filers in the city made less than $20,000, and thus were exempted from income taxes.
But we should really focus on the New Yorkers who earned $10 million or more annually, the highest income bracket in the city. In 2009, there were only 817 people who fell into this category, but thanks to the miracle of capitalism, by 2011 there were 1,160.
Their combined $34.3 billion in taxable income was more than double that of any other income category. Despite raking in triple what the 1,568 peons in the $5 and $10 million bracket did, in 2011 the mega-rich paid essentially the same effective state and city personal income tax rates as their "struggling" counterparts.
The mega rich can afford to be "generous" because New York is generous to them: the top tax bracket accounted for 25% ($4.3 billion) of all state and local tax deductions, and 43% of all deductions for charity ($2.9 billion) in 2011.
You can download all the data on the Independent Budget Office's website.
Tagged
1%
billionaires
income inequality
mega rich
rich people
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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