Ulster County Lawmakers Approve Home Rule Request for Tax on High-Income Earners

KINGSTON, N.Y. — The Ulster County Legislature voted 15-8 Tuesday to ask the New York State Legislature for permission to create a local income-based tax surcharge on the county’s highest earners.

The measure approves a Home Rule request for the proposed Ulster County for Fair Taxes Act, legislation sponsored in Albany by Michelle Hinchey and Sarahana Shrestha.

If the state Legislature and governor approve the request, Ulster County would be authorized to adopt a local law creating a surcharge on income earned above $200,000 for single filers and $400,000 for joint filers who reside in the county.

Under the proposal, the surcharge would apply only to income above those thresholds. County officials have said it would function as a 16.75% surcharge on the New York state income tax owed on income exceeding the thresholds, amounting to roughly a 1.5% tax on income above the qualifying levels.

County Executive Jen Metzger said the Legislature’s vote advances an effort to reduce reliance on property and sales taxes to fund county services.

“The deck is unfairly stacked against Ulster County’s working families and people living on fixed incomes, who can barely keep up with the rising costs of basic necessities,” Metzger said in a statement. “Tonight’s vote by the County Legislature is about balancing the scales and ensuring that the responsibility of paying for essential services is shared more fairly.”

Metzger thanked the Legislature for approving the Home Rule request and said the county is seeking authority from the state “to use the existing income tax framework to create an additional revenue option based on residents’ ability to pay.”

She also said the proposal would help address “the millions of dollars in new safety net costs that the 2025 Trump budget is pushing down to counties to pay for federal tax cuts.”

The proposal does not create the tax immediately. Instead, Tuesday’s vote asks the state to grant Ulster County the authority to establish the surcharge through a local law. The state Legislature and governor must first approve the Home Rule legislation before the county could move forward with enacting the tax locally.

County officials have argued the proposal would create a more progressive source of local revenue while reducing reliance on property and sales taxes, which they say place a greater burden on lower- and middle-income households.

Additional information about the proposal, including a presentation outlining the Fair Taxes Act, is available from Ulster County Government.

Image Credit: Ulster County Government