New York still reaping more money from feds than taxes paid — but for how much longer?

NYS Comptroller Tom DiNapoli warns that a budget crisis looms in the MTA’s future unless ridership increases faster than the agency predicts.

Courtesy of NYS Comptroller’s office

When it comes to fairness in the New York-to-Washington tax dollar exchange, things have been looking favorably for the Empire State, a report issued Thursday by NYS Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli shows. 

But just how long this good economic news will last is another question, with pandemic relief programs ended or ending, and state lawmakers at a standstill with New York’s long overdue budget. 

‘Constructive dialogue’ needed: DiNapoli

Taking a deeper look at the numbers, New York state in 2022 generated $361.8 billion in federal taxes and benefited from $383 billion in federal spending. In other words, for every tax dollar sent to the feds, the state received $1.06 in return. 

Of course, a lot of that money came from income taxes.  On a per capita basis, individual income taxes represented the largest portion of taxes paid at $11,095, which is 41.6% higher than the national average of $7,834, according to the comptroller’s analysis. New York also ranked first on per capita corporate income taxes, which were $1,976, $701 higher than the national per capita level of $1,275. 

Paying income taxes is never fun, but in addition to it being the law, it does help the state — as does federal spending. 

According DiNapoli’s report, this is the third year in a row that New York has had a positive balance of payments, after a long history of sending more money to Washington than it receives.

But much of this good news is credited to the historic federal pandemic relief funds. Though being spent down, starting in 2022, it continued to boost New York’s balance of payments with Washington.

In fact, as the emergency spending abated in many programs during 2022, a handful of states excluding New York experienced a negative balance of payments, according to…