Stock Rebate at 80%

The Stock Transfer Tax Rebate, which was a popular enemy for liberals during the past election cycle, has been targeted for a reduction in the New York State Senate by a bill (SB 3892) from Democrat Tony Avella that was introduced this past week.
The Stock Transfer Tax is essentially a sales tax on the transfer of shares of stock, but since 1981 it has been possible for brokers to receive a full refund of the tax. The 100 percent rebate currently employed is worth about $16 billion to the state, with Avella's proposal generating $3.2 billion in revenue by only returning 80 percent of the collected tax.
In Avella's justification, he argues that this proposal could help prevent draconian cuts that have been proposed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo's budget. He describes the mild rollback as reasonable and a way to ensure shared sacrifice.
This proposal was endorsed by A Better Choice for NY and was essentially a foul tip to the Green Party, which wanted to completely end the rebate. Proponents of the rebate argue that ending the rebate system would limit investments in the stock exchange.
There is no Assembly version of this bill and the rebate has not been of much notice since shortly after the governor's inauguration.

Chance of Marriage? Avella Edition

In our ongoing series of posts weighing the possibility of gay marriage passing the New York Senate, we're taking a look at Queens, where Democrat Tony Avella now occupies the seat that was held by Republican Frank Padavan.
This represents a win for the proponents of same-sex marriage, with Padavan's no vote shifting to a yes vote with Avella.
With the revelation of Zeldin's no vote, this new yes vote brings the measure back to even.
Stay tuned for the next edition...