Legislation announced Friday would authorize Ulster County to create a local income-based surcharge on county residents who earn above $200,000, or $400,000 for joint filers.
County Executive Jen Metzger announced the Ulster County for Fair Taxes Act, which, if approved by the state and county legislatures, would create a 16.75% surcharge on the state income tax paid by county residents above those amounts.
Metzger said it would work out to about a 1.5% tax on income above the thresholds. Her office said the plan has the potential of raising $10 million to $20 million a year. The 2026 Ulster County budget is $496 million.
“The deck is really stacked against working families and people living on fixed incomes, who can barely keep up with the rising costs of basic necessities, and on top of this have to shoulder a disproportionate share of the cost of funding essential government services,” Metzger said. “We are asking the state for the authority to pursue an additional revenue option based on ability to pay, using the existing state income tax framework so it is easy to administer and fair to taxpayers.
The proposal developed by Metzger is supported by state Sen. Michelle Hinchey and Assemblymember Sarahana Shrestha, the three of whom introduced the proposal Friday at the County Office Building.
“We need creative solutions to protect our residents from being priced out of their community,” Hinchey said. “We’ve put this legislation on the table to provide Ulster County with a new tool to make the local tax system fairer, make life more affordable for our neighbors who need relief most, and make it easier for people to stay in our community.”
