Survey Says: 3 in 5 Want More Tax, Spending Cuts

Reining in Government is Taxpayer’s Top Choice for Reviving Economy, Creating Jobs 

State Senator Patty Ritchie today released the results of her Economic Survey, which found overwhelming support for continued cuts in state taxes and spending.

Three in five participants in the “Next Steps to a Stronger Economy” survey named tax cuts and lower spending as their top priorities for state government this year.

Forty-two percent of the nearly 2000 participants in the six-question survey, which was conducted online and through a mail-in ballot, selected “Keep cutting taxes” as their first priority, while an additional 20 percent selected “Reduce government spending.”

More than a third of those who chose the former selected the latter as their second choice.

“Central and Northern New Yorkers agree that the best way to get our economy moving again and creating the jobs we need is to continue to reduce the size, cost and impact of government on taxpayers and small businesses,” Senator Ritchie said.

“Working in a bipartisan fashion with a new Governor and lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle, we are delivering the relief that New Yorkers need, and it’s clear that they want even more.”

Cutting taxes and reining in government spending are among Senator Ritchie’s top priorities. Since taking office last year, she voted to enact a state budget that erased a $10 billion deficit without new taxes, and reduced the size of New York’s budget for the first time in 15 years.

She voted to cut the state’s income tax rate on middle class New Yorkers to its lowest in 58 years, to restore a sales tax cut on clothing purchases, and to cut taxes on manufacturers to help stimulate job growth Upstate.

A new tax cap law is helping to hold the line on local property taxes in 80 percent of communities across the state, and Senator Ritchie has been leading an effort locally to help reduce government mandates to bring additional relief to taxpayers.

In addition, she sponsors legislation to restore the STAR property tax rebates that were eliminated in 2009, even as the state continued to increase spending and property taxes soared.

Click below for the complete survey results.