As of January 1, 2007, New York residents have been benefiting from a decrease in hospital bills, an end to the ‘marriage penalty' tax, health insurance equality for the mentally ill, and an increase in minimum wage, which has risen from $6.75 to $7.15 an hour. The hourly rate for workers receiving tips has also risen from $4.35 to $4.60.

The increase in the minimum wage will not only help working families to improve their life, but it will also help the economy since these families now have more money to spend, says Assemblywoman, Susan John, D-Rochester. She also states that New York has the biggest gap between the rich and the poor families with children.

The concern among many small businesses is that with higher wages some businesses may not be able to afford the added labor costs. According to Chris Koetzle of Support Services Alliance, to make up for that money, many businesses will have to close their doors, increase their prices or simply stop hiring.

Mark Dunlea of the Hunger Action Network disagrees with the claim that wage hikes cause job loss. He believes that workers need higher wages, especially wages that increase with inflation.

Another law in effect, call the Timothy's Law, requires that most mental illnesses be covered in the same way as physical ailments. And as a result, health insurance premiums are expected to increase.

Under Timothy's Law no less than 30 inpatient and 20 outpatient annual visits should be taken by mental illness patients. Companies with 50 or less employees will be taken care of by the sate, but the bigger companies will have to provide extra coverage for illnesses such as schizophrenia, attention deficit disorder, and depression.

Koetzle believes that for small businesses that are already paying the highest property taxes and the highest workers' compensation, paying the highest minimum wage and health insurance in the country will prove to be damaging.

Most advocates say that discrimination in insurance policies will soon come to an end. They state that as a result of mental illness, the business is affected in the areas of employee absence or a decrease in productivity.

New York's ‘marriage penalty' tax has also come to an end. In the new guidelines, the standard deduction for married couples filing jointly will increase to $15,000 and $7,500 for married people filing separately. This change has brought them in line with filers who are single or married filing separately.

As a result of this calculation, taxpayers will save $41 million this year, which could put up to one thousand dollars or more in the pockets of each family.

The icing on the cake is a new $330 child tax credit that parents with children between 4 and 17 years of age are entitled to.

Earnest Young is a tax and accounting writer for Accent Accounting and Taxes http://accentaccounting.net/

Do you realize that some tax forms ask you to check a box if
you are BLIND?

Quote: “Two years ago it was impossible to get through on
the phone to the IRS. Now it's just hard to get through.
That's progress.”
-Charles Rossotti, former IRS Commissioner

Disappointed that you never had time to write the great
American novel? Don’t fret, just go dig out your past tax
returns.

Quote: "The Eiffel Tower is the Empire State Building after
taxes."

Under the Freedom of Information Act, a man with a small
business sent a request to the IRS asking if they had a file
on him. The IRS wrote back, “There is now.”

Quote: “It would be nice if we could all pay our taxes with
a smile, but normally cash is required.”

Q: Who audits IRS agents?

Quote: “Next to being shot at and missed, nothing is quite
as satisfying as an income tax refund.”

Q: How do you drive a CPA insane?

A: Fill out Form 1040EZ.

Quote: “The government deficit is the difference between the
amount of money the government spends and the amount it has
the nerve to collect."

Why is it that when the IRS loses a tax return, it is
considered a mistake, but when you lose a receipt, it is
considered tax evasion?

Quote: "The wages of sin are death, but by the time taxes
are taken out, it's just sort of a tired feeling."

Q: How do you humble a person that flaunts their wealth?

A: Have them fill out a tax return.

Quote: “Even when you make a tax form out on the level, you
don't know when it's through if you are a crook or a
martyr.”

Q: Why is a tax audit like a tornado?

A: There's a lot of screaming and you end up losing your house.

Quote: “When are we going to be allowed to list the
government as a dependent?”

People often say death and taxes are the same, but this
is wrong. Death is a taxable event, but taxes never
die.

Richard A. Chapo is with BusinessTaxRecovery.com - providing information on taxes. Visit us to read more articles about tax deductions and our new tax help page.