“My highest priority this legislative year is helping to bring more jobs to our community by lowering the tax burdens on my already overtaxed constituents; the Governor’s budget proposal simply does not do enough to achieve this goal.
Despite our current economic climate, the Governor chose to include more than $1 billion in new taxes, fees and surcharges while failing, once again, to include essential property tax reform. This plan will leave families paying hundreds more in additional costs every year, and does nothing to protect them from property tax hikes down the line.
While the Governor’s budget does move in a direction toward better fiscal responsibility through measures I have long advocated for, such as consolidations of state agencies, a down payment on property tax relief and a temporary ban on unfunded mandates, not enough has been done to reduce the costs on the overburdened taxpayers in New York.
I will continue to fight for what is most important to New Yorkers as we go forward in this budget process: lower taxes and more jobs.