Business Council statement on Governor Cuomo’s State of the State address

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518.465.7511
03
Jan
2018

ALBANY, N.Y.—“For the state’s business community, Governor Cuomo’s State of the State message addressed several critical needs, including continued investment in workforce development and public infrastructure. However, the Governor said too little about making the state more economically competitive, especially for upstate where job growth continues to lag. We appreciate the potential impacts that federal tax reform may have on some state taxpayers, and look forward to working with the Governor and the Legislature on how to adjust our tax code to work better under the new federal reality. But, we have major concerns with a new payroll tax, and with increasing business taxes to offset reductions in federal taxes – especially since New York’s 2014 corporate tax reform legislation, pushed by The Business Council and championed by Governor Cuomo, has finally made our business tax climate more competitive among the states. We believe that the prudent path is a comprehensive response to address our budget deficit and federal tax changes. New York must examine all major categories of state spending, including the largest - Medicaid and education - and address other long-recognized cost drivers including Scaffold Law. As the Governor and the Legislature begin to tackle what will surely be a difficult budget season, we ask that they remember these simple words, “first, do no harm.””

-Heather C. Briccetti, Esq., president and CEO of The Business Council of New York State, Inc.

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