More details on possible switch to payroll tax unveiled in Cuomo’s budget

The governor’s 2019 budget proposal holds most spending flat in order to eliminate a $4.4 billion deficit.

Jacobs, meanwhile, praised the governor for the increased education spending in his budget.

The fight over school aid for the roughly 700 districts in NY is also one of the top issues during budget deliberations.

Already, New York is sorting out the impact of the federal decision to end an individual mandate as part of Obamacare. He is not making any cuts to health care, but his budget does assume that President Trump and Congress will eventually refund the Child Health Plus program as well as the Disproportionate Share Hospital program. Unfortunately, today’s Executive Budget presentation was long on finger-pointing, yet short on financial details.

Gov. Cuomo’s recent announcement of his proposal to sue the USA government for the new tax legislation that limits the deduction for property tax is laughable.

We need more specifics on the governor’s spending plan for a complete assessment of its potential. “I highly encourage the governor and my legislative colleagues to resist the temptation to finger point, but instead work together to see where we can pare down spending and wisely protect investment where it counts the most“.

“To put an additional type of tax on NY without getting input from the community of impact such as businesses or residents I think would be counterproductive”, said Griffo (R. – 47th District). “This needs to change”.

Ending an energy services sale tax exemption and expanding a number of tax enforcement measures, such as a new effort to ensure all of New York’s cigar taxes are collected. There will be an increase of 3 percent in school aid, less than the 4.2 percent previously projected.

While his proposed smaller-than-anticipated 3 percent increase in state aid for education will spark a food fight, we hope it’s part of a larger conversation about how NY funds K-12 education. Cuomo remarked that NY state is the largest donor to Washington – about $48 billion to federal coffers. Like years past, he highlighted his accomplishments and reminded NY of the “historic commitments” he’s made to solve our most pressing issues.

“Just the concept of a payroll tax is very challenging”, said Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan (R-East Northport) after Cuomo’s annual budget address. These are issues that should be vetted independently and transparently.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday presented his budget message to members of the state legislature, and it includes not only a billion dollars in additional revenue, but also calls for a radical change in the state income tax code.

The state tax burden would transfer from the employee to the employer.

As one remedy for ringing more revenue out of an increasingly squeezed tax base, Cuomo said he is considering a new employer-paid income tax on wages, a replacement for state income tax that is now paid by wage earners. Notably absent was a much-anticipated congestion pricing plan which would fund MTA upgrades by charging drivers who travel in New York City’s most congested areas during peak commuting hours. Get the Medicaid tab off the counties’ backs entirely, so property owners’ tax load isn’t so danged high that some of them will be hurt by the capping of the federal SALT (State And Local Taxes) deduction at $10,000.

Peoples-Stokes said where New York State need not bother to spend money is on the committee Cuomo proposed to study whether legalizing marijuana would be a benefit to New York State. Until we fix that problem and fundamentally redesign the way we’re doing government, and really take on the big tough issues, that’s going to be the problem this state faces.