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New York State Tax Increases
Effective for a 3-year period beginning January 1, 2009, the top personal income tax rate is increased to 8.97% (income above $500,000). The rate is increased to 7.85% for joint filers with taxable income above $300,000. Individuals with state or city adjusted gross income over $1 million cannot claim any itemized deductions except for 50% of their charitable contributions.

New Jersey Tax Amnesty
New Jersey has enacted a 45-day state tax amnesty -- May 4 to June 15, 2009. During the amnesty period, a taxpayer who has failed to pay a state tax can pay the tax plus one-half of the balance of interest. All penalties, one-half the interest, and the cost of collection will be waived. After June 15th, taxpayers will face an automatic 5% “amnesty nonpayment penalty” for any state tax liabilities that are eligible for amnesty but not satisfied.

Pennsylvania Local Business
Privilege Taxes
Many localities in Pennsylvania impose Business Privilege Taxes, usually based on gross receipts. As a result of litigation over the past several years, many jurisdictions are becoming more aggressive and changing their ordinances to expand the amount of receipts subject to tax. Under these new provisions, the receipts subject to local taxes can be far greater than those subject to tax at the state level.