Silver: New York Needs to Boost Tax Revenue

State faces a projected $113 billion deficit

Monday, Feb 9, 2009 | Updated 7:00 PM EDT

Silver: New York Needs to Boost Tax Revenue

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver says the state's income tax brackets ultimately should be restructured, but not now.

The Manhattan legislator says the immediate goal is to increase revenue to help close a projected $13 billion budget deficit for the state's upcoming fiscal year.
Silver's majority in the Assembly has previously passed legislation to raise taxes on New Yorkers earning $1 million or more a year. He says that so-called ``millionaire's tax'' is still before his Democratic conference, and he hasn't brought any other proposal.

Neither Gov. David Paterson nor Senate Democratic Majority Leader Malcolm Smith has supported the tax hike.