ALBANY New York still falls behind most states in terms of population and personal income growth over the past decade, but continues to top the list of highest-taxed states in the nation, according to the Public Policy Institute (PPI), the research affiliate of The Business Council of New York State, Inc.
Job-boosting measures supported by Governor Andrew Cuomo and the state legislature this year are not yet manifested in current labor and economic statistics.
“The numbers speak for themselves. There is a clear correlation between New York's high state and local taxes and our slow rate of economic development,” said Heather Briccetti, acting-president and CEO of The Business Council. “Governor Cuomo, with the support of the legislature, has taken important steps toward remedying this trend through his commitment to develop local economies based on regional strengths.”
Unique New York, a yardstick created by the PPI, is a comprehensive list of indicators portraying the general economic health of the state.
New York ranked 23 in terms of private sector job growth between 1999 and 2009, with a growth rate of 8.9 percent. This represents an improvement over the state's ranking along this indicator between 1997 and 2007, when the Empire State ranked 34 with a growth rate of 8.6 percent.
According to Bureau of Economic Analysis data, the Empire State ranked 38 in terms of personal income growth between 2000 and 2010. New York also lagged behind nearly every state in population growth, ranking 42 with a growth rate of only 3.1 percent between July 2000 and July 2010. Figures for upstate are even less encouraging: The region experienced a 1.1 percent decline in population.
The Tax Foundation found that between 2007 and 2009, the 15 counties with the highest local property taxes as a percentage of home value were all in New York State.
The complete list of Unique New York economic indicators is available here.
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