Government Expenditures and Revenues on Long Island


 

Publication Date: January 2006

Publisher: Long Island Index

Author(s):

Research Area: Banking and finance

Type: Report

Coverage: New York

Abstract:

Ask most anyone on Long Island and they’ll tell you: the trouble with taxes is they are too high. But vital issues concerning taxes go far beyond the pain of the individuals who must pay them.

These issues are far-reaching and interconnected. Taxes that are too high encourage the flight of human talent and businesses to less costly areas, with potentially devastating effects on a region’s competitiveness. Yet taxes can be too low. A region that lacks the revenues to provide excellent schools and other services may suffer the same kind of exodus.

Long Island faces challenges on both counts. But we are not alone. We share these challenges with regions across the county. This report examines data about what we are paying, and what we are getting for it, and considers a variety of approaches that are being studied – and in some cases implemented – to address these challenges.