Saturday, April 19, 2025
“Do you believe in the dignity of the working man?”
I’ll never forget it. She was about 60 years old, and answered the door even though she was clearly busy cooking dinner. And she invited me in to sit and talk.
It was 20 years ago, and I was running for mayor of Mineola. As part of my campaign, I went door to door to introduce myself, ringing every doorbell in the village. Residents repeatedly invited me in to chat. I learned firsthand what was at stake for them and their families –- a first-class education in what really matters.
But that question, “Do you believe in the dignity of the working man?” resonated with me, and does to this day. Yes, I did believe in that dignity, and I still do. My father was an immigrant from Portugal who came to this country with nothing in his pockets, but a lot of ambition and determination in his heart. He worked tirelessly in construction, doing backbreaking work all week, often even on weekends to help make ends meet. He did it for his family. He’d go the extra mile, and he knew he was lucky to have the opportunity. I never heard him complain.
He went on to become a successful businessman who employed hundreds of people, and remained a role model. He owned a union shop because it was “the right thing to do.” And he hustled to line up enough jobs to make sure all his people could keep working. We were all in it together, and he understood that he had an obligation not only to his employees but also to their families. That was another lesson I learned from my old man.
That’s one of the reasons I went into government: to somehow even the playing field. And it’s why I recently introduced two bills to help New Yorkers keep more of what they earn. One would eliminate state income taxes on cash tips, and the other would do the same for overtime pay. As New Yorkers face stagnant wages and the rising cost of living, exempting tips and overtime from state taxes is a very real way to put more cash in the pockets of thousands of service industry and hourly workers statewide.
Tip earners are usually on the lower end of the socio-economic scale and have the least disposable income, so every dollar they earn has a much greater impact on the bottom line of their family finances. In many cases they are women, young people, or single heads of households who have no other source of income and rarely receive a financial break.
Overtime earners tend to be nurses, cops, construction workers, or in some kind of service industry where wages are tied to hours. They make a conscientious decision to sacrifice their personal time to do more and work harder. Why are we penalizing them for their industriousness? It would be better to incentivize the work, and reward them instead by keeping government away from their earnings.
Whether it’s a waitress in Syracuse or a cop in Brooklyn, these policies would have a ripple effect on every neighborhood in the state. The more money people keep, the more they spend in their local economies, and a rising tide lifts all boats. Just today I watched a New York Times Instagram video that explained why middle-class people are leaving New York, California and Illinois in droves. The answer was simple: affordability. So it’s clear we need to start reversing that trend, and fast.
The current tax code already provides breaks for passive income. Investment dividends, corporate profits and inheritances all enjoy special tax treatment. Yet people who rely on just their labor see their hard-earned tips and overtime taxed at the same rate as regular wages.
This imbalance disproportionately impacts workers who are already struggling, but these new laws would help correct this inequity.
And it shouldn’t be debatable. During the lead-up to the national election, both sides of the aisle embraced these policies. But it seems that now that the dust has settled, working people are again on the backburner.
I’m proposing these new laws for working men and women like my dad and countless other moms and dads across the state. Eliminating taxes on tips and overtime pay is a common-sense policy that would provide immediate relief to hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers, stimulate local economies and promote fairness in the tax system. It’s time to prioritize those who go the extra mile — and honor the dignity of the working man.
Jack M. Martins represents the 7th State Senate District.
