Taxes and New York City have always gotten a bad rep. In fact taxes and the whole of the US have a long history. Ron Paul once said, “One thing is clear: The Founding Fathers never intended a nation where citizens would pay nearly half of everything they earn to the government.” But right now, an additional 11 companies have been approved by the state which aim to generate 87 jobs and invest $1 million in the Buffalo Nigeria region. These will become part of a network of tax-free zones connected to Buffalo University, in line with Start-Up NY.

With the Start-Up NY program – discussed on other posts on this site – state taxes or substantially lowered (or even eliminated) for firms that commit to generate jobs in areas attached to New York’s educational institutes.

In other tax news, a group has banded together to become a coalition in attempt to fight the “carried interest loophole.” This lets fund managers pay a much lower federal tax rate on a lot of their income. The plan is to bring in a bill to increase taxes on state residents that benefit from the lowered rate to negate the tax savings garnered at the federal level.

This coalition is also aiming to spawn revenue that might be used for public investments in areas like educational institutes and economic developments. Since New Yorkers are good about paying taxes, it’s good to focus on this. As Assemblyman Sean Ryan – one of the sponsors of the bill – pointed out, “People from Buffalo, when they work, they pay their taxes. We don’t have a lot of hedge funds in Buffalo, but we do have a need for state assistance.”

A coalition of progressive groups is starting a state-level campaign to close the so-called carried interest loophole, which allows fund managers to pay a substantially reduced federal tax rate on much of their income.

And now, news has arrived that New York City business owners are entitled to receive a six month extension on their 2015 tax return. The reason for this? Local finance officials have not been able to provide the requisite forms on time! So for once, there are benefits to inefficiency!