Local manufacturers deliver strong message: New York State overtaxed, overregulated and too expensive (UPDATED, October 10, 2013)

Corning, N.Y., October 9— On the same day that the Washington D.C.-based Tax Foundation called New York State’s business tax climate the worst in the nation, State Senator Tom O’Mara (R,C-Big Flats) and members of the State Senate Majority Coalition held a public hearing at Corning Community College and heard the same message from local and statewide business leaders and economic development officials: New York State is overtaxed, overregulated and too costly. 

[UPDATED, OCTOBER 10TH: Read more in The Leader and Star-Gazette]

Today's State Senate hearing, part of a series of 10 industry-specific public forums on tax and regulatory reform being held statewide by the Senate Majority Coalition as part of a bipartisan effort to identify and eliminate the most costly government regulations that strangle economic growth and drive up local property taxes, focused on upstate manufacturing.  

O’Mara and his colleagues heard testimony from representatives of several prominent Southern Tier manufacturers, including Corning Incorporated, Dresser-Rand, Nucor and F.M. Howell & Company, as well as leading economic development agencies including Southern Tier Economic Growth (STEG) and the Steuben County Industrial Development Agency. 

O’Mara noted that at the same time he and his colleagues were holding a public forum on reforming New York’s tax and regulatory policies, the Tax Foundation (www.taxfoundation.org), in its latest annual report on states with the best and worst business climates, ranked New York 50th – dead last – for the second consecutive year.

“The testimony we heard today from leading Southern Tier manufacturers and economic development leaders reaffirms the absolute importance of revitalizing the manufacturing sector as the key to turning around the upstate economy,” said O’Mara.  “We received some straightforward and valuable input on why New York State continues to be overregulated, overtaxed and a tough place to do business, and steps we can take to change it.  It’s going to be extremely helpful as we move forward with developing a comprehensive legislative agenda for 2014.”

An online video of today’s Corning hearing, which was webcast live on the State Senate’s website, will soon be available on O’Mara’s Senate website, www.omara.nysenate.gov.

O’Mara was joined by Senator Patrick M. Gallivan (R,C,I-Elma), Deputy Leader of the Republican Conference for Economic Development, and Senator Kathleen Marchione (R,C-Halfmoon), chair of the Legislature’s Administrative Regulations Review Commission. 

“I appreciate the willingness of my Senate colleagues to come here to Corning to hear our local ideas and suggestions for tax and regulatory reform. We’re after the best, most effective ideas for job-creating tax policies and regulatory reforms,” said O’Mara. 

Other Senate forums to date have focused on agriculture, construction and tourism.  In addition to Wednesday’s hearing on manufacturing in Corning, the Senate is also holding hearings this week on small business and financial services.