Elmont Online

ALBANY -- Saying they're emboldened by the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations, a coalition of groups is renewing its call for the continuation of the surcharge on high-income New Yorkers, popularly known as the "millionaire's tax."

Gov. Andrew Cuomo, however, remained steadfast in his opposition to the revenue-raiser, which would affect individuals making more than $200,000 a year.

Rebranded as 99 New York -- a reference to the "99 percent" rhetoric of economic equality popularized by the protests in Lower Manhattan -- the effort includes New Yorkers for Fiscal Fairness, GrowingTogetherNY, the Alliance for Quality Education, Citizen Action, 1199 SEIU, NYSUT, Save Our SUNY and others.

At a Monday morning news conference at the Capitol, representatives made the point that the end of the surcharge -- which expires at the end of December -- would be nothing more than a $5 billion tax cut for the state's wealthiest during a time of budget cuts and high unemployment.

"That is unacceptable," said Ron Deutsch, executive director of New Yorkers for Fiscal Fairness. " ... There's too much need in New York State -- we have record homelessness, record hunger, record unemployment."

Deutsch rebutted the argument made by Cuomo that the return of the tax could lead to an exodus of the wealthy to neighboring states such as Connecticut and New Jersey. Calling it "the myth of the moving millionaire," he noted that during the 2003-2005 period when the state imposed a post-9/11 surcharge on the wealthy, New York saw a 30 percent increase in high-income filers. Also, a New York City Comptroller's study from 2007 found that New York households earning $250,000 or more were the least likely to leave the state.

While the push for the renewal of the surcharge reached a fever pitch before the passage of the current state budget last spring, proponents said the coalition is growing larger as the cuts necessitated by the pending revenue drop are being enacted in programs such as Albany's SNUG anti-violence effort.

Also, the Occupy Wall Street movement could prompt Cuomo and other elected officials to sit up and take notice. "People are taking it to the streets right now," Deutsch said.

The idea of extending the tax has support from Democratic Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, but is opposed by Cuomo as well as Senate Republican Majority Leader Dean Skelos.

A Siena Research Institute poll released Monday found that 72 percent of respondents support a surcharge on those earning more than $1 million. That support reaches across the political spectrum to include 83 percent of Democrats, 70 percent of independents and 55 percent of Republicans.