Opposing tax hikes for ultra-wealthy, Cuomo eyes cuts to schools, hospitals
Meanwhile, activists gather outside homes of NY governor's billionaire donors
Gov. Andrew Cuomo says he opposes raising taxes on the wealthy to help the state weather the coronavirus economic crisis, but it is clear that federal aid alone won’t solve the state’s fiscal woes.
COVID-19 shutdowns have decimated consumer spending and tourism in New York and observers warn of a slow recovery. Cuomo’s administration is projecting a $13 billion drop in tax revenues through next April and a potential $61 billion hole over the next four years.
Democrats in the state Assembly and liberal groups including VOCAL-NY have proposed tax hikes on the ultra-rich as a way of dealing with the crisis. U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is among those who have urged Cuomo to get on board, telling the governor in a recent video that “it’s time to stop protecting billionaires, and it’s time to start working for working families.”
Cuomo, though, remains unconvinced, saying that the state’s roughly 100 billionaires can’t make up the gap alone, and that overtaxing them will simply cause them to move elsewhere.