New York State Income Tax Burden

New York’s 1999 income tax threshold — the income level at which families begin paying income tax:	Ranking among 42 states with income taxes
For two-parent families of four: $23,000.	10th highest
For single-parent families of three: $21,800.	7th highest
New York’s 1999 income tax for working-poor and near-poor families:
For families of four with poverty-line incomes ($17,028): $490 refund.	3rd lowest
For families of three with poverty-line incomes ($13,290): $697 refund.	3rd lowest
For families of three or four with minimum-wage earnings ($10,712): $763 refund.	3rd lowest
For families of four with incomes at 125% of the poverty line ($21,285): $140 refund.	4th lowest
For families of three with incomes at 125% of the poverty line ($16,613): $423 refund.	3rd lowest
New York has consistently exempted families with below-poverty earnings from the income tax. Because New York’s tax threshold for families of four was increased substantially during the 1990s, the threshold has risen further above the poverty line. (See chart.) In 1991, a family of four owed no tax until its income reached 1 percent above the poverty line. New York’s tax threshold is now 35 percent above the poverty line.