Governor Andrew Cuomo’s tax free business plan is taking criticism from state labor groups. The proposal would allow businesses that move onto a SUNY campus to be free of property taxes, sales taxes, and income taxes.
The Civil Service Employee Association has begun a campaign protesting the governor’s scheme with billboards and radio advertisements.
Groups such as the C-S-E-A and the Public Employees Association have recently joined together, and are warning the public that the policy may not be such a great idea for the state. They worry because previous business plans similar to Cuomo’s have proven to be wracked with fraud. With the rapid pace that Cuomo is advertising his scheme, C-S-E-A spokesman Stephen Madarasz believes this plan will lead the state in a dangerous direction.
We do believe that this idea of special employees paying no income taxes really is a very dangerous direction because it takes us down a path where we’re starting to create different categories of employees; haves and have-nots, and in the long run is not good for the democracy nor is pushing through the legislation without adequate public input and debate.
Since New York state legislators are the only people with a real say as to whether or not the proposal will go into effect, the C-S-E-A is stressing how important it is that all aspects of the plan are looked at as carefully as possible. Madarasz believes the governor’s proposal will find itself at the head of the legislature’s agenda within the next few weeks.
