The New York State Comptroller’s Office released its annual report Thursday revealing Wall Street bonuses reached a record $49.2 billion, soaring to 6% on average last year.
“It’s a strong report in terms of the money coming in, and it’s certainly a big piece of why month-over-month revenue coming to the state – the revenues have been exceeding projections,” said Tom DiNapoli, New York state comptroller.
The average Wall Street bonus was $246,900, raising the total bonus pool by 9%.
The increase reflects a rise of more than 30% in Wall Street profits, which totaled $65.1 billion in 2025.
“I think what it means as budgets are being finalized both at the city and state level, caution would be appropriate because there are so many geopolitical trends that are happening that are way beyond our control,” said DiNapoli.
DiNapoli suggests the state and city focus on building up their reserves and keeping them for a “true” rainy day.
Overall, what does this mean and why is it important? Wall Street bonuses significantly boost New York’s tax revenue, accounting for 19.4% of the state’s tax collections in state fiscal year 2024 to 2025.
DiNapoli estimates the 2025 bonuses should generate $199 million more in state income tax revenue when compared to the previous year, and $91 million more for New York City.
The Legislature’s one house budgets both call for a tax increase.
“The average bonus is more than what the average New Yorker makes in a year,” said state Sen. Andrew Gounardes, chairman of the Committee on Budget and Revenue. “And, at a time when we have food stamp benefits being cut, health care being cut, we don’t have enough money for affordable housing. Transit costs are going up. We need to do more to help the vast majority of New Yorkers.”
“I think this is evidence of what we’ve been saying all along,” said state Sen. Jabari Brisport, Chair of the Committee on Children and Families. “That the wealthiest in New York are getting richer and richer while so many of us are struggling to get by, and this is more than enough evidence that we can raise taxes on the wealthy heavily and do all the things we want to do in this state budget.”
Budget watchdog Citizens Budget Commission is against state leaders raising taxes. The organization said it could risk the state’s competitiveness for new businesses and could make New York a less attractive place to live.
“I think it’s important for folks to know that New York City residents already face the highest personal income tax marginal, personal income tax rate in the country,” said Ana Champeny, vice president for Research at the Citizens Budget Commission. “New York state and its local governments collect the most taxes per capita of any state in the nation.”
While all of this plays out, the comptroller’s office points out these estimates are shy of what the governor proposed in her budget so expectations may need to be adjusted for the current fiscal year.