Text of a Memorandum sent to New York State Legislature from Daniel B. Walsh dated April 30, 2003.
April 30, 2003
TO: Members of the Legislature
FROM: Daniel B. Walsh
RE: Freeze taxes, don't raise taxes
For nine straight years, the New York State Legislature has cut taxes so that working men and women would have a better chance at a good job in the Empire State
Growing
momentum for tort reform in Albany appeared to accelerate
further this week as the Buffalo News began a series of comprehensive
editorials supporting sweeping civil justice reform.
In
a May 1 editorial, the newspaper recommends sweeping reforms,
including: caps on noneconomic; repeal of the law preventing
contractors from introducing evidence of worker negligence
in workplace injuries; limitation or abolition of joint and
several liability, vicarious liability, and other theories
based on "deep pockets;" movement toward no-fault
medical malpractice; movement of suits against municipalities
to the Court of Claims; and consideration of restrictions
on contingency fees
ALBANYThe Business Council today challenged state Legislators to freeze
property taxes in New York for one year, if they truly believe that state
tax increases are the way to prevent property-tax increases.
"The idea that higher state taxes will mean lower local taxes is a delusion,"
Business Council President Daniel B
ALBANY
New York State could solve much of its own budget problem, and those of localities
and school districts, by enacting a temporary freeze on public-employee wages,
The Business Council of New York State has told Governor Pataki and legislative
leaders.
Freezing the
salaries of the more than 1
Governor
George Pataki today emphatically reaffirmed his commitment
to rejecting a state budget that increases spending and requires
new tax increases, saying he would veto such a plan if necessary.
The
Governor issued a 1,144-word statement describing a legislative
budget plan that the Governor called "fiscally irresponsible
"New York's runaway tort costs are extracted, one way or another, directly
from wallets of New Yorkers. Today's poll confirms the obvious: New Yorkers
want to repeal this state's odious tort tax.
In 1996, total liability costs in New York amounted to $14.3 billion per
year. That's nearly $800 per New Yorkers, and it was 28 percent above the
national average
The
Business Council has launched a new "electronic advocacy"
initiative designed to persuade lawmakers to reject pressure
from unions and other tax-and-spend advocates to raise the
state's personal income taxes.
The
new "electronic protest" follows a similar campaign begun
early this month by The Council, in collaboration with regional
chambers of commerce, to oppose corporate tax increases
New
Yorkers overwhelmingly want tort reform to curtail lawsuit
abuse, and their support holds in every region of the state
and among every age, gender and political affiliation, a new
poll shows.
They
survey was conducted by Strategic Moves, LLC for New Yorkers
for Civil Justice Reform (NYCJR), a broad coalition of interests
commitment to tort reform
Text of a letter sent to Governor George E. Pataki from Daniel B. Walsh dated April 28, 2003. (Similar letters sent to Senator Bruno and Speaker Silver.)
DANIEL B. WALSH
President/CEO
April 28, 2003
Dear Governor Pataki:
RE: A pay freeze to save taxpayers
Unions representing taxpayer-funded employees are creating enormous pressure on the Legislature to raise taxes on New York's workers and businesses
New
York State lost more than half a billion dollars in 2001 by
failing to collect cigarette taxes, a study shows.
The
state lost between $526 million and $609 million in 2001 because
the state failed to collect taxes on tobacco products from
sales via Native American convenience stores, the Internet,
800-number phone networks, bootlegged sales, and cross-border
sales, the study concluded