Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers) said Monday that raising taxes isn’t her conference’s “first fallback" — contradicting the preferred approach put forth by Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) last week.
“We know how the burden of taxes certainly on middle-class, low-income New Yorkers is very difficult,” Stewart-Cousins said as Senate Democrats gathered near Albany for a two-day retreat ahead of the legislative session slated to start Jan. 8.
Heastie last week appeared much more open to the idea of seeking out funds via additional levies.
“When there is a concern about having enough money, the two options always are: Do you cut spending or do you raise revenue? And for us in the Assembly, we always believe in raising revenue,” he said.
Closing the budget gap, created by ballooning Medicaid costs and the Cuomo administration’s decision to defer payments from one fiscal year to the next, is sure to be a contentious issue when lawmakers return to the capital next month.
The state Division of Budget released its mid-year budget report last month, predicting a $6.1 billion hole in the state’s finances for next year. Over half of that deficit accounts for the state Medicaid program, calculated at $4 billion.
Progressive advocates are calling on electeds to raise taxes on the ultra-rich to help cover the growing costs and fund other projects related to environmental and transportation priorities.
Meanwhile, good government groups and fiscal watchdogs warn that raising taxes to accommodate spending could spell trouble and take away tools used to weather recessions or other economic downturns.
Gov. Cuomo’s aides have repeatedly said he will present his ideas for dealing with the shortfall in his budget proposal in January.
“Opinions are relevant when they are based on facts, and we will present actual numbers and options when we do the budget, as otherwise, this is all just speculation,” said Cuomo senior adviser Richard Azzopardi.
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