Albany – After opposing higher taxes for months as counterproductive, Gov. David Paterson will seek to increase several taxes from gasoline to clothing, as well as make changes in the income tax that will make New Yorkers pay more fix state government’s fiscal crisis.
Subscribe to our Daily Roundup Email
Although Paterson won’t seek to raise the rates of income taxes, a “broad based tax,” he will eliminate legal exemptions in the income tax that he considers “loop holes” and make further adjustments to make sure all taxpayers are paying their fair share, said Paterson budget spokesman Jeffrey Gordon.
Paterson’s 2009-10 budget proposal to the Legislature is scheduled for Tuesday. That’s a month early, part of Paterson’s effort to get a strong start to cutting spending and increasing revenues to deal with deficits he projects will total $47 billion over three years.
The Democrat also reportedly plans to increase taxes on insurance policies, on non-diet sodas under an “obesity tax,” reviving the state sales tax on clothing, and changes in funding of hospitals and health care providers that could shift more health costs on individuals and employers.
Errol Cockfield, spokesman for Gov. David Paterson who is scheduled to release his budget proposal Tuesday to the Legislature, wouldn’t deny the tax proposals first reported in the Albany Times Union Sunday. He said details of the budget will be released Tuesday.
The obesity tax would raise $404 million, according to the report. Additional costs for most New Yorkers would require new license plates – to trigger new fees. Action on a law passed by the Legislature would require the collection of sales taxes on cigarettes sold by Indian tribes, according to the report.
Paterson’s budget proposal is also expected to include his idea for about a $600 increase in tuition – about 15 percent – for state residents attending the State University of New York and City University of New York.
Paterson’s proposal would also reportedly lift the limit on how much state tax can be charged for gasoline. The state’s tax was limited to 8 cents per gallon. A new state tax could be tied to the price of gas, allowing state revenues to rise with the price of gas.
Much of the reported spending plan is similar to the budget cuts Paterson proposed in November for a special session of the Legislature to plug about a $2 billion deficit in the current year. The Legislature failed to act then.
Paterson projects an additional deficit of about $12.5 billion for the 2009-10 fiscal year that begins April 1.
His November proposals included deep cuts in health care funding, including nursing homes, but he backed off cuts in school aid amid strong opposition by the New York State United Teachers union and its powerful supporters in the Senate and Assembly.
Health and school aid are the two largest areas of state spending along with the state work force. Paterson has called for what he considers a hard freeze on hiring, allowing only essential public safety and health hiring and requiring an additional level of approval for approval of almost all hiring and spending.
The current state budget is about $120 billion.
Dan Weiller, spokesman for Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, wouldn’t comment on the proposals. There was no immediate response from the Senate’s Republican and Democratic leaders, or from the Healthcare Association of New York, a lobbyist in the industry.
The association released a statement Sunday that said 80 percent of its hospital members are considering drastic cutbacks because of state cuts previously announced.
“As the financial condition of hospitals continues to degrade, there will be very little choice than to eliminate jobs in order to protect core services, further weakening already fragile local economies and threatening the level of care and service the public demands,” said the association’s president, Daniel Sisto. “For years, New York hospitals have been victims of government cut after government cut. As a result, we have the second worst operating margins in the country, and have been placed in a position to fail as we try to navigate through the worst economy in generations.”
This will come under his proposed “Obesity Tax”???
Great, so this means we’re going to be taxed by body weight?
Wherever you go, the charge will be by the pound – your pounds.
Let’s see, pass through the magnetic detector anywhere including airports and pay for your weight. Apply for a Driver’s License and you’ll be told to “step on the scale”?
This is great!
This is insane. Why don’t they just tell the federal government that they need a bailout. They said that AIG could Not be allowed to fail. They said that Citi Group was too big, too be allowed to fail. They say that the ramifications and snowball effect of allowing the Big Three Automakers to fail would be an unprecidented disaster and won’t be allowed . to happen. So what if they told the Federal government that they cannot meet payroll to keep the cops, fire, all the infrastructure going. The government would have to bail them out or face actuual devastation from uncontrolled fires and looting, etc. These taxes are eventually going to make NYC uninhabitable, same as if there was nuclear fallout.
he realy wants to raise the income tax but he knows that it will make people angry so he comes out with this cute idea of an obesity tax so this gets the attention of the people and the income tax hike which is the real killer gets put under the carpet
so wake up people stop talking about the soda tax. lets fight and talk about the income tax which is already one of the highest in the usa and he wants to raise it even more
Absured!!!
get ready for “pay as you weigh” tax. there will be a scale at every accountants office before you file you weigh.
is this guy crazy diet soda has been linked to weight gain not regular soda as studies show that diet soda has chemicals that slow your motabalisim and therefore your don’t lose but gain weight from drinking diet soda i think the diet soda should be taxed because it is drunk by obese people.
Well, “New York Soda Party” sounds better than “Boston Tea Partt”. Get Ready!!!
Paterson’s proposal would also reportedly lift the limit on how much state tax can be charged for gasoline. The state’s tax was limited to 8 cents per gallon. A new state tax could be tied to the price of gas, allowing state revenues to rise with the price of gas.
I am going to buy all my gas in nj, paterson is an embarassment to this state.
so now i need to drink to poison, is that any better than the sugar???
All you NY’ers better do something about these tax and spend wakko liberals. If they think for any stupid reason that something is no good for you, they will tax you to death. Of course NJ isnt any better with corzine in office. We need to get these mishiginas out of office NOW!!
ever heard that diet doda makes you fat?? its a fact .. only fat people drink it
A bottled water tax is probably next, if not by Paterson then by Bloomberg. Who loves NY?
Errol Cockfield is the “genious” behind this. I have another choice name for Mr. Cockfield……..actually its very similar to his current name.
all he does by raising taxes is get people to leave ny
Shoin! another tax! What next? Tax on toilet paper???
diet sodas, while less fattening are probably more unhealthy. not that this gov’t gives a damn about our health. they just need a way to tax us.