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NY Governor Cuomo Says $2 Billion Budget Shortfall is “Serious as a Heart Attack”

NY Governor Cuomo Says $2 Billion Budget Shortfall is “Serious as a Heart Attack”

“Tax the rich. Tax the rich. Tax the rich. We did that. God forbid the rich leave.” – Gov. Cuomo

https://youtu.be/UB9Oc2kDaEg

The state of New York is facing a $2.3 billion shortfall — that’s billion with a B, heading into the new fiscal year.

“This is the most serious revenue shock the state has faced in many years,” said the state’s comptroller. The news imperils Cuomo’s budget which was introduced not 3 weeks ago.

Live footage from the Governor’s office:

The Buffalo News has more:

Calling the situation “as serious as a heart attack,” the Democratic governor said revenues are $2.3 billion below projections for the fiscal year that ends March 31. That is on top of a $500 million revenue dip from personal income taxes that the Cuomo administration recently projected when it put together a budget plan last month.

Whether the situation continues or improves is unknown, as is how the Cuomo administration will deal with the gloomy tax receipts in both the current and next fiscal years.

The timing of the announcement at the Capitol was not accidental. Lawmakers, who traditionally want to spend more than governors, are getting down to the nitty-gritty work of coming up with some budget alternatives – including more money for public schools – to Cuomo’s plan. It comes before a final “cash report” on January’s spending and tax revenues is complete, but Cuomo aides get daily numbers from the tax department on receipts.

State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, a former member of the Assembly who sat next to Cuomo in the ceremonial Red Room of the Capitol, said lawmakers need to be aware of the unfolding fiscal situation.

“This is the most serious revenue shock the state has faced in many years,” DiNapoli said, before quickly adding that the situation could improve in the coming months.

The culprit? Not enough revenue from state income taxes. BN ctd:

Cuomo said the super-wealthy in New York – accounting for 1 percent of tax filers – end up paying 46 percent of the personal income taxes the state collects each year.

“Tax the rich. Tax the rich. Tax the rich. We did that. God forbid the rich leave,” Cuomo said of a mobile group of people who can more easily switch residences to states with lower state and local tax levels.

Cuomo declined to say what spending might have to be trimmed to accommodate the lower tax revenue numbers, but he noted that education and health care are, by far, the two largest areas of the state budget.

…Cuomo has railed for a year about President Trump’s tax program that blue-state governors say was politically written to help high-income taxpayers in Democratic states pay for tax cuts of people living in lower-tax, Republican states.

“There’s definitely a change in behavior by high-income individuals,” said Robert Mujica, Cuomo’s budget director, of estimated personal tax payments that did not materialize in December and January.

In that two-month period, Mujica’s office had projected estimated personal tax payments would total $6.2 billion. They came in, instead, at $3.9 billion. Such estimate tax payments, unlike withholding taxes on a worker’s paychecks, often represent non-wage income. Officials say other high-tax states whose high-income residents will feel the effects of the new federal tax law also are experiencing state personal income tax revenue declines.

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Comments

JusticeDelivered | February 5, 2019 at 5:13 pm

All those high income people should leave for a few years, that would really crimp Cuomo’s style and be very entertaining to watch.

    notamemberofanyorganizedpolicital in reply to JusticeDelivered. | February 5, 2019 at 8:39 pm

    And in the meantime Millionaire Cuomo should give up ALL his Wealth. Not just his yearly income, but all his Wealth.

    Put your money were you mouth is Creepy Cuomo.

Tonight during the State of the Union address we can expect president Trump to highlight the economy, which by most accounts is doing very well. We can also expect the president to talk about a potential deal with China, infrastructure spending, and the use of government to control the price of drugs. We can be sure that there will be no reference to run-away spending and the size of the debt which has reached $22 trillion and has grown more in the last eleven years than in all of American history.

It will be depressing for those of us who still believe that free markets are the best way to serve the American people and that large governments that overreach and invade most of our lives is a big threat to our well-being and happiness.

It will be even more depressing since after almost a year of protectionist policies that have led to higher tariffs on millions of consumers, including many manufacturers, and has led to business closures and sour relationships with our trading partners, we can expect the president to make yet another misguided push toward more bad trade policies. Tonight, the president is expected to ask Congress to expand his ability to impose duties with a complete disregard for the global-trading system that has served us so well in the last 60 years.
https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/trump-state-of-the-union-speech-tax-rate-increases/

The rich and their money are highly portable. Not so much the rest of us.

Read the actual economist’s piece.

Listen carefully to the SOTU.

    True to form, rags, you trash our President without having heard a word of his speech, while this post is about the watershed admission by governor Cuomo of the utter bankruptcy of his lefty ideology. Well, you do you. Meh.

      Subotai Bahadur in reply to bear. | February 5, 2019 at 5:52 pm

      I would also note that Rags cites the National Review as his authority. The same National Review that wanted Hillary elected. The same National Review that opposes any resistance to the Democrats. The same National Review that by now is well in route to reconciling itself to the Democrat push for infanticide.

      Subotai Bahadur

      Ragspierre in reply to bear. | February 5, 2019 at 5:53 pm

      True to form, Bare, you deflect from a valid point totally on topic in order to genuflect to your little yellow god.

      If you don’t know Duh Donald’s trade policies (which match those of Bernie Sanders and are warmly approved of by George Soros) by now, nothing he says tonight with teach you anything.

      But we knew that…

      JusticeDelivered in reply to bear. | February 5, 2019 at 6:27 pm

      Rags-Rump just cannot help it. TDS is a crippling ailment closely associated with LPS (Little Person Syndrome, as in small minded).

      I think that Trump probably has no idea that R-Rump exists, that R-Dump is like an ant, skurring along hoping that Trump does not step on him and knowing that even if Trump did, he would not notice.

      Now, regarding the issue of trade. Post WW2 America handed out economic concessions in trade negotiations like candy, in exchange for other countries doing non economic things. Over decade after decade, those concessions compounded, leading to America being disadvantaged.

      Trump recognised this, and he is resetting trading partners expectations. It is worth bearing short term expenses in order to get more favorable deals over the long term.

      Trump’s insight in to this issue is one more example that he is smarter than R-Dump, and it explains why he is also wealthier and more powerful than R-Rump.

      Rags, are you ready to stop all your juvenile insults? You stop and I will stop heaping scorn upon you 🙂

      Edward in reply to bear. | February 6, 2019 at 10:47 am

      Why would you object to an off-topic post by Rags? It isn’t something completely and totally unusual.

    RedEchos in reply to Ragspierre. | February 5, 2019 at 6:41 pm

    “Tonight, the president is expected to ask Congress to expand his ability to impose duties with a complete disregard for the global-trading system that has served us so well in the last 60 years.”

    And that’s where her trolley goes off the rails.
    The catastrophic loss of manufacturing jobs out of the country has served us well?

    MAJack in reply to Ragspierre. | February 5, 2019 at 7:39 pm

    Gee, that’s top bad. 🙂

    gonzotx in reply to Ragspierre. | February 5, 2019 at 7:48 pm

    Served us so well? Like putting tariffs 500% on American goods?

    So your not a lawyer, but a very bad comedian

      Ragspierre in reply to gonzotx. | February 5, 2019 at 7:58 pm

      Maybe you could provide a link.

      Generally (and with no exceptions I know of), tariffs are taxes on the consumers of the nation imposing the tariff. They are crony-crapitalist favors on the protected interests at the expense of the rest of us.

      dannystaggers in reply to gonzotx. | February 6, 2019 at 8:47 am

      And how does that effect you? For an entire car it’s only 40 bucks. Being fat dumb and stupid is no way to walk through life son.

        Ragspierre in reply to dannystaggers. | February 6, 2019 at 9:39 am

        Irony/gag line from the guy who lies to impose illegal central planning by diktat…

        “America was founded on liberty and independence – not government coercion, domination, and control. We are born free, and we will stay free.”

    johnny dollar in reply to Ragspierre. | February 5, 2019 at 8:33 pm

    After a few decades of hearing politicians, of both parties, bloviate about spending, I have come to the following conclusion:

    None of them give a damn about spending increases, except as a talking point for their campaigns to hit the other guy.
    It doesn’t matter who is in power, spending goes up without regard to income, and the difference is paid for with borrowing facilitated by the Federal Reserve.
    This cannot go on for much longer without destroying the soundness of the currency, but then again I have been saying that for about 30 years.
    The only thing that has postponed the day of reckoning is that all other industrial countries appear to be doing the same thing.

    dannystaggers in reply to Ragspierre. | February 6, 2019 at 8:46 am

    You need to STOP listening to The National Review. They’re going to be next in bankrupcy court. Seriously.

      Ragspierre in reply to dannystaggers. | February 7, 2019 at 12:28 pm

      I’ll just call you Mr. Ostrich, for your insistence that hiding from sound thinking and good ideas is how you engage in life.

      Read NRO. Learn stuff. Have your “thinking” challenged. Become more than you are.

Anyone care to bet on how high of a tax increase New York’s ‘3 men in a closed room’ will go?

Worked out well for the Brits and their high-income rock stars.

“Governor of heavily taxed state shocked to find revenue falling”

He and other NY Ds agree on best way to address issue – kill as many future taxpayers as possible.

Then bring in as many illiterate, unskilled illegals as possible, protect them with sanctuary city status, as well as bringing in as many unskilled Muslims as possible who will refuse to assimilate to Western ways who will then set up their own parallel neighborhoods with their own laws.

Voila, a recipe for success.

    rabidfox in reply to pfg. | February 6, 2019 at 11:14 am

    Oh, and don’t forget to give all these grifters economic support and free benefits that aren’t available to Americans residing in NY state.

New York’s budget is $175 (or $275) billion.
$2 billion is like 1%.

Rush talks about this on occasion. New York is so tax hungry they’ll audit you for decades after you leave, and if you should happen to drive through the state afterward with any chance of having conducted any kind of business at all, they’ll demand their vig immediately unless you *prove* you did *not* earn money there.

    alaskabob in reply to georgfelis. | February 5, 2019 at 5:55 pm

    California also.

    Waiting for Left to pass legislation requiring permission to leave a state (emigration permits). Sort of like what Germany did to the Jews in the 30’s… permit to leave but not with your wealth.

      you need to be careful wotj California, it’s one of at least 13 states that tax your retirement or part of your retirement if you earned in the state.

        gospace in reply to ronk. | February 5, 2019 at 9:53 pm

        Yep. From what I understand CA thinks every servicemember ever stationed in the state owes them a share of their retirement. I don’t think too my of us pay it.

      JusticeDelivered in reply to alaskabob. | February 5, 2019 at 7:46 pm

      California’s Tax Franchise Board are like Hitler’s Gestapo. I was reading about a case where they sent their agents into Nevada in an attempt to shakedown an inventor who left California. They argued that their agents were free to break Nevada law. The inventor sued, and pursued the case all the way to SCOTUS, winning an unanimous decision in his favor. He then sued the state of California and won a $400 million judgement.

… geeshe, what a missed opportunity… he could have used a different metaphor:… where his new pink law allows us to create a heart attack & deliver “the goods”… sounds alot like demon-rats across the board..

Governor Cuomo — taking the Empire State from riches to rags. Let’s promise more free education, free housing and free healthcare. What could go wrong?

Why should other states subsidize wasteful NY graft & foolish policies?

I am a New Yorker.

As a high tax paying NYer in Westchester County, I can tell you people are craving to leave but can’t sell their homes for love nor money. Realtors and Dem pols want u to think for everyone leaving NY, lots of people are moving in. It’s not remotely true in the high zip code pockets. House prices are plummeting and the old realtor trick is to pull the listing, keep it at bay for a few weeks, then market it as NEW LISTING. Zillow and Trulia at least keep logs of all the price reductions and actual days on market. Bonus, Dem County Supervisor George Latimer has RAISED our taxes by 2%. Gee, there’s an incentive to buy. NOT.

Perfect storm of not buying in NY – Cuomo and his progressive justice agenda of late term abortions and sanctuary state policies, harboring illegals, NY is like the Titanic. JUMP now.

There is an obvious solution. States should impose an exit fee on rich people who want to leave. A reasonable fee would be, say, 50% of your gross assets. See, problem solved.

    DINORightMarie in reply to LeftWingLock. | February 5, 2019 at 11:38 pm

    Oh, come on. The Nazis had the 100% clause…..Cuomo can definitely match that! (sarcasm, for those who can’t tell when reading this)

    Milhouse in reply to LeftWingLock. | February 6, 2019 at 2:34 am

    They would do it if only the courts would let them.

    Eric R. in reply to LeftWingLock. | February 6, 2019 at 4:48 am

    NYC and NJ already have it. You pay a surcharge tax on the sale of your house/condo/co-op if you leave either of those jurisdictions. It has held up in court; it is only a matter of time (and not much time) until that tax is raised.

is’t Cuomo one of the politicians that want to tax the rich, well he’s getting his wish

They will make it up in selling baby parts

Perhaps Cuomo will build a wall at the NY border for the same reason his beloved Communists built border walls.

    Eric R. in reply to TX-rifraph. | February 6, 2019 at 4:52 am

    I think his model is not a Communist, but another Italian (who started out Socialist before he created another ideology)

    “Tutti nello stato. Niente fuori dallo stato. Nulla contra lo stato.”

    (Everything within the state. Nothing outside the state. Nobody against the state.)

DINORightMarie | February 5, 2019 at 11:47 pm

It is tragic what is happening to NY. I went to NYC in December and was appalled by how dirty it is. Homeless people everywhere. Trash not picked up, streets not kept up. What a mess – the Christmas decorations and such were wonderful, but it was bittersweet, sad, seeing it that way. When Giuliana was governor, it was clean, bustling, much brighter.

The people were very nice – yes, really. They helped me with luggage in the subway without my asking, were very cordial, smiling. I don’t think it is their fault, although they are the ones who vote Dem down the line, over and over and over…..

I think the media and leftist brainwashing has made New Yorkers believe they just can’t vote for a Republican. I think most thought Giuliani was a Democrat at heart, so they voted for him….out of desperation, to get their city cleaned up and back to profitable, back on a balanced budget.

Can such a thing come again for NY state, for NYC?! I sure hope so. So many in NY are being held hostage to these populated pockets of crony, corrupt, Dem leftists.

Democrats destroy everything. When will people WAKE UP?!

Johnny Rebellion | February 6, 2019 at 7:14 am

Virginia governor signs late term abortion bill. 2 day’s later his political career is on life support. NY governor signs similar bill and a few days late the state is going bankrupt. No good news this week for the Baby killing Dem’s

dannystaggers | February 6, 2019 at 8:43 am

Don’t blame Trump baby butcher! Or explain how you were short 4.4 billion last year. The year BEFORE Trumps tax cuts.

Gee, you mean human behavior really is a thing, and that people are more committed to caring for themselves than living to pay taxes. Shocking. Someone should invent homo economicus.

Taxing the income of the rich to solve a State’s financial problems is usually done by people who assume they are smarter than the people who were smart enough to become rich people.

that trial is not done yet, CA was a do over

LI has become “sanitized for your protection”.

Too bad. The hurly-burly was/is good for the discourse needed in the US.