State of New York secondary Archives: on Tax Reform
Andrew Cuomo:
A flat tax is not a fair tax
We fought for tax fairness. For decades, millions of New Yorkers were burdened with an unfair tax code. Whether a person made $20,000 or $20 million, they paid the same rate. It was just wrong--because a flat tax is not a fair tax. We added new brackets
for the middle class and for high earners. The more you make, the higher rate you pay. And we stimulated our economy by cutting taxes for New Yorkers earning $40,000 to $300,000. Today, the middle class is paying the lowest rate in 58 years.
Source: 2012 New York State of the State Address
Jan 4, 2012
Andrew Cuomo:
Enacted NY's first-ever property tax cap: 2% per year
We began the year by closing a $10 billion deficit with no gimmicks, and we did it on time. The budget included historic reforms to redesign and consolidate state government, eliminate automatic spending increases that cost
New Yorkers billions of dollars, and cap spending increases for education and Medicaid. After 20 years of failure, we enacted the state's first-ever property tax cap.
New York's property taxes are among the highest in the nation, but for more than 15 years, both houses of the Legislature and three governors failed to bring these skyrocketing costs under control. The tax cap that we enacted limits increases in property
taxes to 2 percent, or the rate of inflation--whichever is less. Schools and local governments can go beyond the cap, but only if 60 percent, respectively, of the voters or local legislative body approve.
Source: 2012 New York State of the State Address
Jan 4, 2012
Andrew Cuomo:
Tax cut for middle class; increase taxes on wealthiest 1%
Although Cuomo said as a candidate in 2010 state taxes were "out of control" and candidate Astorino in 2009 called county taxes "madness", records show each, at best, only stemmed the growth in taxes, which remain among the highest in the nation.
Cuomo's tax message includes a modest cut for the middle class while increasing taxes on the state's tiny, wealthiest 1 percent, [one pundit] said. "It's good politics," he said.
[Perhaps] Cuomo's greatest triumph is forcing a 2 percent cap on
the growth in local property taxes. Cuomo promised as a candidate in 2010 to eliminate state-mandated programs on schools and local governments so they could afford the 2 percent cap. Many school and local government officials say too few mandates--
many protected by influential unions in Albany --were touched.
[One pundit] dismissed Cuomo's property tax freeze as a "gimmick," because taxes will still go up and the state subsidy will just mask them for a year or two.
Source: Newsday on 2014 New York State gubernatorial race
Jun 15, 2014
Rob Astorino:
Held Westchester County taxes to $548M, without cuts
State and county records show Astorino, the Westchester County executive, held the line on the property taxes during his first term. Records show that the amount the county raised by taxes--$548 million--was unchanged the past three years, and county
spending declined from $1.76 billion in 2011 to $1.73 billion this year. Astorino kept spending and taxes down, but made no drastic cuts in what is still the highest county tax in the nation, McMahon said.
In Westchester County, the average residential property tax bill was $12,717--three and four times many average upstate bills, according to 2012 records with the State Real Property Tax Office. That average total property tax bill in Westchester
County increased $79 over the previous year. But the county government portion of the bill under Astorino's control was essentially flat. "His record isn't exceptional, but on the other hand, it's what he says it is," [one analyst concluded].
Source: Newsday on 2014 New York State gubernatorial race
Jun 15, 2014
Page last updated: Feb 18, 2023