SERINO SAYS ‘NO’ TO EXTREME TAX INCREASES IN STATE BUDGET PROPOSAL

Albany, NY —Senator Sue Serino released the following statement in the response to the passage today of the Senate One House Budget Resolution:

“While New Yorkers are leaving the state in droves, Albany’s new leadership is busy chasing away good paying jobs and advancing a One House Budget Proposal that would raise taxes by $2 billion this year alone.

While I was encouraged to see that the proposal preserves a few critically important initiatives that my colleagues and I have led the way on, like the property tax cap, $1 million for Lyme and tick-borne diseases and funding for the Dwyer Veterans Peer to Peer Support Program, the reality is, there is far too much government waste buried in this proposal. I cannot in good conscience support a budget that blows through the state’s self-imposed spending cap while we are asking localities to adhere to one of their own, and includes these outrageous tax increases while hardworking New Yorkers are still struggling to make ends meet.

I was a single mom for a portion of my life, living paycheck to paycheck and I know that for a lot of New Yorkers, every penny counts. 25 cents on paper bags at the grocery store? That counts. A new tax on internet purchases? That counts. Unfunded mandates that increase local taxes? Those count. And the list goes on.

As budget negotiations continue, I urge my colleagues to focus first and foremost on cutting government waste, providing real relief for New York’s taxpayers, and prioritizing the programs that puts the needs of hardworking New Yorkers first.”

###