Posted on 04/05/2005 4:34:53 PM PDT by Libloather
Tax Receipts Fell $6 Billion After Sept. 11, Report Says
By IAN URBINA
Published: April 5, 2005
The Sept. 11 attacks cost New York almost $6 billion in city and state tax revenue through the fiscal year 2003, according to a federal report being released today that gives the most authoritative accounting yet of their impact on public coffers.
New York City faces an additional loss of $550 million in taxes annually for fiscal years 2004 and 2005, according to the report, which is based on estimates from the New York City Office of Management and Budget.
The numbers are slightly lower than prior estimates, but New York lawmakers seized on them to intensify a call for federal reimbursement.
"We're still waiting for help with these expenses," said Representative Carolyn B. Maloney, Democrat of New York, who was joined by Representatives Charles Rangel and José E. Serrano, also of New York, in requesting the report. "The only thing that is different now is that we have a clearer sense of just how much money is at stake."
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Democrat of New York, added, "The report reaffirms that there needs to be continuing cooperation at every level to ensure that the city and state have the resources to meet our ongoing challenges."
The report, compiled by the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, also said that one of the biggest financial impacts on the city was the loss of about 17,000 securities jobs.
"Although the decline in securities employment was not as great as in some other sectors, high wage rates for the sector mean a much larger decline in income," the report said. "For example, securities income fell by 28 percent in the first quarter of 2002 from the same quarter the previous year."
Lynn Rasic, a spokeswoman for Gov. George E. Pataki, said that while she had not yet seen the report, the city and state clearly experienced enormous fiscal repercussions after Sept. 11. "In fact, the state saw revenue decline for the first two consecutive years following Sept. 11, which happened for the first time since the Great Depression," she said, adding that Mr. Pataki intended to continue working with the Congressional delegation to ensure that New York gets all the financial support it needs.
Jordan Barowitz, a spokesman for Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, said the report was not only an indication of how devastating the attacks were for the city but also a clear indicator of just "how far the city has come under Mayor Bloomberg's leadership, from near bankruptcy to fiscal stability."
Earlier estimates of the impact were higher, the report said, because they did not adequately consider the recession that was hitting New York in the months before the attacks.
"The losses aren't what we feared initially because lots of businesses stuck with New York after the attacks," said Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York. "But $6 billion is still not something to sneeze at, and we are expecting Washington to deliver on its promises."
Although job growth had begun to slow in New York before the attacks, it declined sharply in the four months after the attacks. The city was hit harder than elsewhere because many manufacturing and finance jobs moved to Connecticut, New Jersey and elsewhere in New York, the report said.
Sounds like she could be the smartest woman in Westchester County...
Compounding losses due to 9/11 are losses due to companies who can no longer afford to do business in NYC and manufacturing companies whose jobs were shipped to China.
It's not a revenue problem it's a spending problem - especially with a budget that has increased at 3 times the rate of inflation every year. Is there any special reason for that? Yes, irresponsibility.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.