New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo inherited a deficit of $10 billion dollars. He proposes closing the state’s budget gap by freezing wages and taxes, limiting spending and consolidating departments. He also plans to redesign the state’s Medicaid program, which provides health care for seniors, the poor and others.
There is another way to address our state deficit which has not been explored, and that would be to restore State revenues to 1990’s levels by repealing Governor George Pataki’s tax cuts for the wealthiest of taxpayers.
“Among his first-term accomplishments were his $3 billion, 25 percent income-tax cut and a substantial cut in the capital gains tax and inheritance tax,” according to a report on the former governor by the Cato Institute’s “Fiscal Policy Report Card on America’s Governors: 2006.”
It should be noted that Pataki’s tax cuts provided a 25 percent rate reduction for wealthy taxpayers, but no tax cuts for the poorest taxpayers. Since 1995, this has resulted in enormous give backs of hundreds of millions to the wealthy, with a resulting loss in state revenues.
New York State relies heavily on local taxes, placing the biggest burden on communities with the greatest needs and least resources. This has led to ever-increasing property taxes, making New York’s tax system one of the most regressive.
Wealthy New Yorkers benefited the most from these policies. Among these elites were some of the culprits behind Wall Street’s greatest excesses, causing the economic meltdown of 2008, which continues to batter the world’s economies. Is it not time for these greedy ones to help bail out the rest of New York?
Governor Cuomo, it’s a no-brainer. New Yorkers will support you, if you do the right thing. You want to close our multi-billion budget gap? Start by repealing Pataki’s $3 billion tax cut!
While you’re at it, take heed …. President Barack Obama made a pact with Republicans to extend the Bush tax cuts for two years, part of a deal to prolong benefits to the long-term unemployed. However, a top priority for Democrats must be to make sure the Bush tax cuts set to expire in January of 2013, actually do expire.
So Governor Cuomo, while you repeal Pataki’s tax cuts, bring a powerful message from all New Yorkers to the White House – “We cannot afford to allow these cuts to be extended again!”
Act with courage and do these two things. You’ll go a long way to closing New York’s deficit.
Robert Salant is Flushing House Director of Community Relations
