Those who qualify could get a one-time payment of $300 or $500. Some critics of the governor's plan argue it won't fix the affordability issues in New York State.  Credit: Newsday Studios

More than 1.3 million Long Islanders could receive between $300 and $500 in state rebate checks at the end of the year and see substantial tax savings if two proposals from the governor are approved. Critics, however, argue that the measures merely paper over significant affordability issues in the region.

Among the line items in Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposed budget is an “inflation refund” that would give $3 billion in direct payments to about 8.6 million state residents, including more than  a million on Long Island, the state said. Single taxpayers who make up to $150,000 per year would receive $300, and joint filers making up to $300,000 annually would get $500 total.

Separate from the rebate is an expansion of the Empire State Child Credit, which would give parents up to $1,000 in refundable tax credits for each child younger than 4, and up to $500 for families with children ages 4 to 16. 

If approved, the credit's expansion would be phased in over two years, meaning Long Island parents with children  younger than 4 would qualify for the savings when filing their taxes in 2026. Parents of children ages 4 to 16 would qualify the following year, the state said.

An estimated 215,000 households on Long Island, or roughly 355,000 children, would benefit from the expansion of the child tax credit, the governor’s office said earlier this month.

Parents filing jointly who earn less than $110,000 annually would qualify for the full credit, as would single-parent filers who make less than $75,000 a year, according to the state. Households earning up to $200,000 could qualify for partial benefits.

The State Legislature will review and potentially make changes to Hochul's proposed budget. A budget deal must be reached by April 1.

Officials with the New York State Division of the Budget declined to comment on how the proposals would impact Long Islanders, but instead pointed to recent remarks by Hochul:

“Families shouldn’t have to worry about whether or not they can afford to put food on the table because of the rising cost of groceries,” Hochul said in a statement last week. “Making New York more affordable has been one of my top priorities."

Bruce Sing, 66, who lives in Jamaica, Queens, said he supports the governor’s refund and tax credit proposals given the state and region’s high cost of living.

“It’s just good for people because they really need it,” Sing said Monday afternoon outside a Walmart store in Valley Stream. “People are really struggling out here. It will pay for one bill at least.”

But critics of the governor’s proposed child tax credit expansion and inflation refund said the state is leaving core affordability issues unaddressed.

“The governor is talking about affordability, and she’s going about addressing it in all the wrong ways,” said Ken Girardin, research director at the Empire Center for Public Policy, a conservative think tank in Albany.

“If you’re concerned about the cost of goods or services in New York, then go find ways to make it easier to provide goods and services in New York,” Girardin said. “You can do that by lowering taxes on the people who provide those goods or services or by easing their regulatory burden.”

Regarding the child tax credit, Girardin said the income caps were too high and that the state “is using a hammer instead of a scalpel."

“Families making upward of $200,000 are hardly ideal candidates for that sort of intervention,” he said.

The Fiscal Policy Institute, a progressive think tank in Albany, also took issue with the state’s proposed refund checks. Emily Eisner, an economist at the institute,  wrote in an analysis earlier this month that the checks would not address structural issues, such as the high cost of housing.

She added that “the policy could easily backfire, giving a small boost to prices rather than easing household finances,” implying that a cash injection into the economy could have inflationary effects similar to what was seen with pandemic stimulus payments.

Eisner did suggest, however, that expanding the child tax credit represents a “recurring investment in New York families.”

For Sing, the Walmart shopper from Queens, it's important that the state do whatever it can to address costs of food and other necessities.

“The price of food is just out of control right now,” Sing said as he wheeled his cart with a small number of groceries to his car Monday. “It’s really ridiculous.”

More than 1.3 million Long Islanders could receive between $300 and $500 in state rebate checks at the end of the year and see substantial tax savings if two proposals from the governor are approved. Critics, however, argue that the measures merely paper over significant affordability issues in the region.

Among the line items in Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposed budget is an “inflation refund” that would give $3 billion in direct payments to about 8.6 million state residents, including more than  a million on Long Island, the state said. Single taxpayers who make up to $150,000 per year would receive $300, and joint filers making up to $300,000 annually would get $500 total.

Separate from the rebate is an expansion of the Empire State Child Credit, which would give parents up to $1,000 in refundable tax credits for each child younger than 4, and up to $500 for families with children ages 4 to 16. 

If approved, the credit's expansion would be phased in over two years, meaning Long Island parents with children  younger than 4 would qualify for the savings when filing their taxes in 2026. Parents of children ages 4 to 16 would qualify the following year, the state said.

An estimated 215,000 households on Long Island, or roughly 355,000 children, would benefit from the expansion of the child tax credit, the governor’s office said earlier this month.

Parents filing jointly who earn less than $110,000 annually would qualify for the full credit, as would single-parent filers who make less than $75,000 a year, according to the state. Households earning up to $200,000 could qualify for partial benefits.

The State Legislature will review and potentially make changes to Hochul's proposed budget. A budget deal must be reached by April 1.

Officials with the New York State Division of the Budget declined to comment on how the proposals would impact Long Islanders, but instead pointed to recent remarks by Hochul:

“Families shouldn’t have to worry about whether or not they can afford to put food on the table because of the rising cost of groceries,” Hochul said in a statement last week. “Making New York more affordable has been one of my top priorities."

Hochul tax proposals spur mixed reviews

Bruce Sing, 66, who lives in Jamaica, Queens, said he supports the governor’s refund and tax credit proposals given the state and region’s high cost of living.

“It’s just good for people because they really need it,” Sing said Monday afternoon outside a Walmart store in Valley Stream. “People are really struggling out here. It will pay for one bill at least.”

But critics of the governor’s proposed child tax credit expansion and inflation refund said the state is leaving core affordability issues unaddressed.

“The governor is talking about affordability, and she’s going about addressing it in all the wrong ways,” said Ken Girardin, research director at the Empire Center for Public Policy, a conservative think tank in Albany.

“If you’re concerned about the cost of goods or services in New York, then go find ways to make it easier to provide goods and services in New York,” Girardin said. “You can do that by lowering taxes on the people who provide those goods or services or by easing their regulatory burden.”

Regarding the child tax credit, Girardin said the income caps were too high and that the state “is using a hammer instead of a scalpel."

“Families making upward of $200,000 are hardly ideal candidates for that sort of intervention,” he said.

The Fiscal Policy Institute, a progressive think tank in Albany, also took issue with the state’s proposed refund checks. Emily Eisner, an economist at the institute,  wrote in an analysis earlier this month that the checks would not address structural issues, such as the high cost of housing.

She added that “the policy could easily backfire, giving a small boost to prices rather than easing household finances,” implying that a cash injection into the economy could have inflationary effects similar to what was seen with pandemic stimulus payments.

Eisner did suggest, however, that expanding the child tax credit represents a “recurring investment in New York families.”

For Sing, the Walmart shopper from Queens, it's important that the state do whatever it can to address costs of food and other necessities.

“The price of food is just out of control right now,” Sing said as he wheeled his cart with a small number of groceries to his car Monday. “It’s really ridiculous.”

From Love Lane in Mattituck, NewsdayTV's Elisa DiStefano and Newsday deputy lifestyle editor Meghan Giannotta have your look at ways to celebrate Valentine's Day this year. Credit: Randee Daddona, Gary Licker; Newsday / A.J. Singh

Put a little love in your heart with the NewsdayTV Valentine's Day Special! From Love Lane in Mattituck, NewsdayTV's Elisa DiStefano and Newsday deputy lifestyle editor Meghan Giannotta have your look at ways to celebrate Valentine's Day this year.

From Love Lane in Mattituck, NewsdayTV's Elisa DiStefano and Newsday deputy lifestyle editor Meghan Giannotta have your look at ways to celebrate Valentine's Day this year. Credit: Randee Daddona, Gary Licker; Newsday / A.J. Singh

Put a little love in your heart with the NewsdayTV Valentine's Day Special! From Love Lane in Mattituck, NewsdayTV's Elisa DiStefano and Newsday deputy lifestyle editor Meghan Giannotta have your look at ways to celebrate Valentine's Day this year.

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