Pol pushes tax aid for tenants
Break if rent over 30% of income
ALBANY — Taking a page from his preferred presidential candidate, state Sen. Brian Benjamin wants to give renters a break.
The Harlem Democrat is proposing legislation — modeled after a bill proposed on the federal level by Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) (photo left) — that would entitle tenants in New York State to a tax credit if rent eats up a significant portion of their income.
Benjamin’s bill would provide a refundable tax credit for those who spend more than 30% of their income on rent and utilities.
“Rents for our citizens continue to climb and increase beyond their ability to pay,” said Benjamin (photo right) “We continuously hear about how tenants are rentburdened and pay is not keeping pace. This is a way to provide some relief.”
The tax credit’s availability gradually decreases as household gross income increases and caps out at $125,000 a year.
Benjamin, who has endorsed Harris’ White House bid, has similarly set his sights on another office and is exploring a 2021 run for city comptroller. He said that at the moment he remains focused on his job in Albany and concedes his bill is a clone of his favored candidate’s legislation.
“This bill is for the everyday New Yorker,” he said. “I’m glad to align with her on a good idea that she has brought forward on the federal level and I can implement here in the state and has real impact on people’s lives.”
A growing number of New Yorkers are considered rentburdened, according to an analysis released last year by the nonprofit watchdog group Citizens Budget Commission.
Roughly 44% of all city households are contributing almost a third of income toward rent.
A staggering 91% of severely rent-burdened households, meaning more than 50% of income goes to rent, are low-income New Yorkers, found the study, which is based on data from the New York City Housing and Vacancy Survey.
It’s unclear the exact number of households that would be able to claim the proposed tax credit, but Benjamin sees it as a necessary way to fight poverty and homelessness.
Benjamin, the chairman of the Senate Revenue and Budget Committee, admitted that his office hasn’t yet conducted a thorough analysis on how the measure would affect state tax collection, but he said the impact would be minimal.
“When it comes to legislation like this it’s sort of beyond budgetary concerns that we typically have,” he said. “We’re going to be looking at that more closely as we go forward. But as far as I’m concerned, this is so important that we can move forward even without having that buttoned down because it’s such a pressing issue for everyday New Yorkers.”