“Raising taxes is not an option — period,” said gubernatorial candidate Andrew Cuomo last year. Now that he’s in charge, Cuomo’s language is becoming more complicated in the face of a stalled state economy. “What I’m looking at is, what do you do with the tax code, and how can you use the tax code to stimulate the creation of private-sector jobs,” Cuomo said in a radio appearance yesterday, noting that he wanted to ensure “fairness” in the tax code. “I am in discussions, I have ideas, people have ideas, but we have no decisions,” he said. Discussions, people, and ideas sound like a good start.
“Many of the suggestions have to do with the tax code,” Cuomo explained. “If you use the tax code right, it’s a potent economic generator. If you use it incorrectly, you can stifle business.”
Democrats have been encouraging Cuomo to reinstate the “millionaire’s tax” on the state’s wealthiest residents, which expires at the end of the year. State GOP Chairman Ed Cox, on the other hand, says that any raising of taxes at all “would not just be hypocritical, it would mean he ran a fraudulent campaign.”
Cuomo’s proposal will be released in a few weeks, in time for January’s legislative session, and will likely call on lawmakers to legalize casino gambling. So we’ll all be rich soon anyway.
