Governor
George Pataki said in his State of the State message Jan.
7 that New York can and should add a million new private-sector
jobs by the end of the decade.
He
also proposed a range of reforms that could put that goal
within reach, including a new business-tax reform, education
reforms to enhance accountability, immediate cuts to state
and local Medicaid costs, energy initiatives, and workers'
compensation reform
The state Assembly Republican conference has proposed creating
jobs and boosting the economy with a sweeping program that
includes an expanded Empire Zone program, new incentives for
manufacturers, a state takeover of all Medicaid costs, and
a ban on new unfunded state mandates
The state Assembly Republican conference has proposed creating jobs and
boosting the economy with a sweeping program that includes an expanded
Empire Zone program, new incentives for manufacturers, a state takeover
of all Medicaid costs, and a ban on new unfunded state mandates
Sections 240/241 of the state’s Labor Law expose New
York’s property owners and contractors to unfair liability,
make business insurance prohibitively expensive if it’s
available at all, and drive up everyday costs for taxpayers
and all New Yorkers, The Council has told the state Insurance
Department
A
new tax on stock trades "could be counterproductive and drive
markets and trades out of New York," Governor Pataki said
last week.
"The
essential thing is that we be the financial capital of the
world," the Governor said
Two-thirds of the states have cut Medicaid and other taxpayer-funded
health-care programs to help balance their budgets, according
to a study by a liberal public-policy group.
Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey and Vermont are among
the 34 states that are changing eligibility standards, requiring
higher premiums and otherwise reducing tax-funded support
for health care, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
reported
Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno announced proposals
to limit the growth of state spending on Medicaid and other
taxpayer-funded health programs, the biggest contributors
to major fiscal problems facing the state, county governments
and New York City
Upstate
New York is home to the four highest city property-tax burdens
in the nation, according to a new study by the Greater Syracuse
Chamber of Commerce.
The
chamber studied 2001 Census Bureau data to rank metropolitan
property tax burdens in the top 100 metropolitan areas in
the country
The
steadily increasing costs of health insurance, a burden of
growing concern to employers, is driven to a significant extent
by Albany's hidden taxes on health care, according to the
sixth briefing paper in The Public Policy Institute's Tax
Watch '04 series
New
York ranked behind 45 of the other 49 states in population
growth from 2002 to 2003, the U.S. Census Bureau reported
today.
The
Empire State's growth rate, just below 0.3 percent, was less
than one-third that of the nation