New York State is home to the highest local taxes in the
nation, more than 70 percent above the national average, according
to a new study by the Citizens Budget Commission (CBC).
In fact, New York's overall tax burden, and its local taxes
in particular, dwarf even those in comparably large and urbanized
competitor states with similar economic profiles and histories,
the study shows
As a new
poll showed that New Yorkers continue to prefer lower taxes and reduced
government spending to higher taxes, Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno
reaffirmed his commitment to rejecting tax increases in 2004.
"We are not
raising taxes, taxes are going to be reduced, we're going to stay with
that,"Bruno (R-Rensselaer County) told New York Post reporter Fred
Dicker on his WROW radio program Nov
New
York's taxes and debt burden are too high, New York's attorney
general told business leaders last month.
The
Business Review, a business weekly newspaper circulating
in the Capital Region, quoted Eliot Spitzer as saying, "We
[in state government] have not shown the fiscal restraint
that you in the private sector are obligated to show
A
prominent Assembly Democrat from New York City has hinted
that his house may consider raising business taxes next year
after all.
"Legislators
would be more likely to consider new corporate taxes rather
than again dip into the pockets of 'average working families,'
the New York Daily News reported Nov
The
success of Massachusetts schoolchildren overcoming initial
failures on demanding standardized tests proves the value
of tough academic standards and tests based on them, according
to The Council's education-policy specialist
The
New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) should await
detailed research on the costs, feasibility, and reliability
of a proposed energy mandate before making a recommendation
on the controversial proposal, The Business Council says
The
chairman of The Business Council of New York State is urging
business people across the state to participate in a survey
designed to identify the business community's priorities and
concerns.
"The
more business leaders share their perspectives through this
survey, the more persuasive The Business Council can be in
urging lawmakers to make the policy changes that New York
needs to be more competitive," said Heidi Nauleau, chairman
of the Jamestown-based Aarque Companies and chairman of The
Business Council
The
Business Council is collaborating with the New York State
Workers' Compensation Board (WCB) to conduct a conference
on all aspects of New York's workers' compensation system
Monday, Nov. 24, in Albany.
The
goal of the conference is to improve communications among
employers who must pay for workers' compensation for all workers,
insurers that provide that coverage, and the WCB, which administers
all aspects of workers' comp in New York State, said Kerry
Kirwan, The Council's specialist in workers' compensation
ALBANY—High
academic standards and standardized tests based on them are essential
to New York's efforts to prepare schoolchildren for jobs and higher learning,
and New York should emphatically reject pressure to weaken its commitment
to standards or testing, The Business Council is arguing before state
lawmakers
Medicaid
policy in New York focuses too much on how high spending can
go and not enough on quality and cost containment, The Business
Council has told the state Senate's Medicaid task force.
"Our
Medicaid discussion should focus on making patient care more
effective and more affordable," Business Council President
Daniel B