Where New Stimulus Checks Are Being Handed Out

Representation. A COVID-19 stimulus check.

Stimulus checks may be part of the past, but for some New Yorkers, some new aid is on its way, just as residents deal with continued high prices due to inflation.

According to Newsday, those who are homeowners in the state with household incomes of $250,000 or less will receive new tax rebate checks that are additional funds that will come in addition to the STAR property tax rebates. Unlike those, which are issued in September, these will start making their way to homeowners soon, and should all arrive before the June 28 Democratic Primary.

They were initially supposed to be mailed out in the Fall along with the STAR rebates, though Governor Hochul made the decision to send them early in order to help those struggling from increased gas and food prices due to inflation. To qualify, a homeowner must qualify for a 2022 STAR credit or exemption, have a household income less than $250,001 for the 2020 income tax year and have a school tax bill for the 2022-23 academic year that is greater than the STAR benefit.

The amounts will vary by the towns in the state, as school taxes can vary by district. However, in some towns, that could mean a check of wildly different amounts, with someone with a household income up to $75,000 taking in $1,650, with the next income level of $75,000-$150,000 receiving a check for $1,164. Those with an income of $150,000-$200,000 would receive a check for $668, and those in the $200,000-$250,000 range would get a check for $182.

However, while the extra rebates may be something some New Yorkers are grateful for, and they are a part of the state budget, experts continue to warn that like the original COVID-19 stimulus checks, extra aid could only add more fuel to the inflation fire, as more cash can lead to more spending and demand for goods, which may be in short supply.

“There’s inflation across the board, and the U.S. is experiencing kind of a uniquely higher inflation,” Erica York, senior economist and research manager at the Tax Foundation told CNBC. “I think it’s driven by not just the stimulus payments themselves, but the size of the relief overall.”

Yahoo! Finance reports that the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco would agree that stimulus checks aided in inflation. They found that the stimulus payments had a quantifiable effect that added 3% to the overall U.S. inflation rate by the end of 2021.