Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's 2015-16 budget proposal released Wednesday called for tax breaks for middle-class New Yorkers and small businesses as well as increasing the minimum wage and spending a third of a $5.4 billion surplus on New York City-area mass transit. Read More
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo Wednesday called for permanent extension of statewide "cap" limits that have held school-tax increases to record lows in recent years but did not reveal how much state-aid money would go to individual districts to help compensate for the loss in local tax revenues. Read More
Now that a consultant has recommended four locations for a possible new stadium for the Buffalo Bills, a big question leaps out: Who would pay? Read More
E.J. McMahon, president of the Empire Center, weighs in on the Governor’s tax proposal and other possible budget issues. Read More
Seniors and singles would be big winners under Gov. Andrew Cuomo's latest plan to help New Yorkers facing some of the nation's largest property tax bills. Read More
Fiscal conservatives including E.J. McMahon, head of the Empire Center, an Albany-based think tank, said the proposal was simply a "subsidy, not a solution" to high property tax rates and offers an "illusion of cost control without actually reducing costs." Read More
There's a yin-and-yang aspect to two pieces of the "2015 Opportunity Agenda'' Gov. Andrew Cuomo revealed in advance of Wednesday's combined State of the State and budget address. Read More
When Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo tapped Robert L. Megna last week to head the New York State Thruway Authority, the appointment was widely recognized as a Capitol veteran wise in the ways of Albany. But Megna – who enjoys Cuomo’s confidence as his longtime budget director – may be inheriting problems too daunting even for an Albany wizard. Not only must he manage the 570-mile Thruway, he also is saddled with paying for the biggest construction project in the state – a new $4 billion Tappan Zee Bridge – and an ancient and expensive canal system. Then there are these challenges for 60-year-old Thruway. Read More