Borelli Slams “Tax-Free NY” Plan

June 12, 2013

Assemblyman Joseph Borelli (R,C,I-South Shore) today attacked the “Tax-Free NY” proposal announced by the administration. The plan would give tax exemptions to businesses located in or near certain publicly-owned universities.

“This proposal is one of the most disingenuous I’ve ever heard,” began Borelli. “It acknowledges that New York’s tax structure is crippling business, and then does nothing to address it.”

“The fundamental flaw with this proposal is that it allows Cuomo and Silver appointees to pick and choose which businesses get sweetheart deals, as every other existing business in this state suffers. This is a slap in the face to the thousands of Staten Island business owners who have been squeezed for decades and have got nothing but empty rhetoric from state government,” said Borelli.

Although the College of Staten Island isn’t specifically named as a location, the bill allows one CUNY school in each borough to host a Tax Free Zone. Wagner College and St. John’s University are not eligible as it permits only private institutions outside of New York City, Westchester and Long Island to compete. Corporations not engaging in any of the prohibited businesses can apply to a commission to be granted the incentives.

“It’s easy to see how this pits one area of the state against another, but it also holds true for Staten Island. This is a disincentive to the development of the Arthur Kill Correctional Facility, and it’s blatantly unfair to the tech businesses already struggling in office buildings along Arthur Kill Road and South Avenue. In sum, this allows a politically connected panel to pick winners and losers. What the talking points that support the proposal fail to mention is that the losers are every one of the state’s two million existing businesses. This could correctly be called ‘Crony Capitalism,’” Borelli concluded.

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