Governor Cuomo Admits His High Taxes Drove New Yorkers Out

Mark your calendars, because the day has finally come: Governor Cuomo admitted his tax-and-spend policies have driven New Yorkers out of the state. But if you’re waiting for him to actually change those failed policies, don’t hold your breath.

During a recent press conference, the Governor blamed the federal government for New York’s financial woes. He criticized the new federal tax plan that caps SALT deductions, claiming this policy will disproportionately harm blue states.

But then Governor Cuomo finally admitted that New York has a “very fragile economy” because it relies on “a very small number of people for the vast amount of [its] tax dollars.”

The top one-percent of earners in New York State account for about 46-percent of all personal income tax revenue. Here’s how the Governor summed up his approach to economic policy: “Tax the rich, tax the rich, tax the rich. We did. Now, God forbid the rich leave.”

Well that’s exactly what they did.

After years of Albany taxing its economic base into the ground, New Yorkers packed up and moved out, taking whatever money they had left with them. Now the state faces a $2.6 billion revenue shortfall, and that number is growing.

State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said that New York’s problems will only get worse before any noticeable improvement, calling the shortfall “the most serious revenue shock the state has faced in many years.”

But instead of addressing this problem head on, the Governor wants to keep raising taxes and increasing spending. His budget proposal does nothing to reform or limit Albany mandates on local governments that drive up property taxes. That is the most direct way to help New Yorkers who could pay more after SALT was capped.

The Governor and Albany lawmakers are missing the point. If there’s any hope for New York to recover from this devasting blow, they’ll have to come up with a strategy other than taxing their constituents out of the state.

Join Reclaim New York Initiative today and fight for a more affordable Empire State!

Photo: MTA New York City Transit / Marc A. Hermann