Gov. Cuomo and the Legislature reportedly are cooking up something like areprise of their December 2011 “tax reform” charade — which combined a $2.5 billion tax hike for million-dollar earners with small income-tax cuts for middle-class households. Read More
Echoing the bayou hunters in the reality show “Duck Dynasty,” Gov. Cuomo said last week that he’s “hap, hap happy” with his new budget. But there are at least five reasons for New Yorkers in general to be less cheerful about the state spending plan for fiscal 2013-14, which starts today. Read More
Calibrated to the state Senate’s estimate of $135.2 billion in all funds spending under the enacted New York State budget for the 2013-14 fiscal year, the Empire Center’s “Spend-O-Meter” spins at the following rates... Read More
A senior Albany lawmaker disclosed last week that he wants to investigate a new taxpayer-funded deal that will give state officials the right to use a luxury box at the Buffalo Bills' stadium. Read More
In the second year of New York State’s property tax cap, proposed school district budgets will be subject to an average tax levy limit of 4.6 percent—more than double the statutory base cap of 2 percent and well above the 3 percent average limit for school budget proposals last year, according to data from the state comptroller’s office. Read More
The full exemption of all taxes is a "promising new wrinkle," said E.J. McMahon of the fiscally conservative Manhattan Institute. McMahon said the state go further and use its more generous, $440 million tax subsidy for TV and movie productions to phase out all corporate taxes for new and existing companies. Read More
The full exemption from all taxes is a "promising new wrinkle," said E.J. McMahon of the fiscally conservative Manhattan Institute. "But the state should go much further than this." McMahon said the state should use its more generous $440 million tax subsidy for TV and movie productions to phase out all corporate taxes for new and existing companies. Read More
If Gov. Andrew Cuomo thinks taxes are so burdensome in Upstate New York, why not cut them for every business? That's the Empire Center's reaction to Cuomo's plan unveiled Wednesday that would create tax-free zones around SUNY campuses for employers and employees. "In the final analysis, highly touted 'economic development' programs built on a promise of significant tax relief ultimately beg the same question: If our taxes are such a hindrance to growth, why not reduce them for everyone?" wrote E.J. McMahon, senior fellow for the Empire Center, in a blog post. Read More