We think of progressive taxation, if we think of it at all, as a ten-dollar term for making the rich pay more of their fair share. But Thursday at Noon NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn Member David Yassky, advised by the Drum Major Institute, give it a newer twist: let lower income New Yorkers pay less . Is Ms. Quinn finally turning from the darkside of the Bloomberg Empire?

There are, as it turns out, almost 225,00 very low wage households in New York City in which workers are paying NYC income taxes even though they’re exempt from NY State and Federal tax (because they fall below the State and Federal, but not the NYC, tax minimum.)

Speaker Quinn will propose today to eliminate the income tax on NYC’s lowest income workers at the fairly modest cost to the City of $72 million. This will put, I am told, $321/year on average into the hands of families. That money will be spent immediately, creating a mini-stimulus, and easing the daily life of the most hard-pressed workers.

DMI explains:

This tax break would help 224,200 low- and moderate-income households currently obligated to pay New York City income taxes even though they owe no federal and/or state income taxes. These households include approximately 717,700 New Yorkers, 436,700 children and 281,000 adults. Only those households that owe no federal and/or state income tax and have a taxable income of less than $40,000 would be eligible. Affected households would see $321 in city taxes eliminated on average. Households with a taxable income between $20,000 and $30,000 would see $533 in city taxes eliminated.

Council Member Yassky who, everyone says, played a key role in developing this proposal, said:

"Eliminating the personal income tax for working families who don't earn enough to owe state or federal income taxes not only is the fair thing to do, but will put money back into the pockets of the people who are hurting the most. While Wall Street's comeback will be critical for economic recovery, even more important will be getting low and middle income families spending again, and this policy will help make that happen."

Who, you may ask, is going to pay for this? NYC Budget guru Mark Page, the other day, in an excellent NYC finance briefing, explained that the City faces a deficit of approximately $4 billion. Our billionaire Mayor proposes to balance this, in part, by a $1 billion increase in the NYC sales tax rate and its reach. This is a proposal that harms lower income New Yorkers the most. When asked: “why not tax the rich?” Mr. Page said he feared they’d move away. Even Page’s boss, Mayor Mike, cannot deliver that line with a straight face, since the available data directly contradict it. Thus, unlike Chris Quinn, the Mayor proposes to make the lot of the poor significantly harder. You can watch of video of Mr. Page’s remarks here.

Ms. Quinn’s proposed alternative is to raise the $1 billion by taxing high earning New Yorkers. Is this an outbreak of fiscal fairness among Ms. Quinn and the Council? Liz Benjamin has more here which looks mostly at the tax the rich portion of the story – and the mini-break of Ms.Quinn from her career as an acolyte of the Mayor. The NY Times report, here, also concentrates on the upper range taxes.

DMI adds:

We developed the income tax proposal in close consultation with Councilman Yassky and Speaker Quinn. We are focused on the middle class, and we have been impressed by their long-standing commitments to championing policy solutions that will help current and aspiring middle class New Yorkers. We were delighted by their positive responses to our ideas and our proposal was greatly enhanced by regular conversations with their offices. We look forward to working with Speaker Quinn and Councilman Yassky on moving ahead with this proposal.