“If Washington doesn’t provide New York state with our $15 billion fair share, we will pursue litigation,” Cuomo said Tuesday throughout his 2021-2022 budget presentation.
Biden will be sworn in as president on Wednesday.
“The legal crisis is legally and ethically Washington’s liability. President Trump is gone. But the damage to New York remains. The COVID assault on New York state in the spring was due to federal negligence,” said the three-term Democratic governor, who has long had heated relations with the new president.
“The new federal government didn’t cause the damage, but they are legally, ethically, and politically responsible for correcting it.”
Cuomo announced he hoped that allies Biden, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who will soon become majority leader of the upper chamber, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) will present for the Empire State — yet won’t let them off the hook if they don’t.
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Cuomo laid out two possibilities in the budget presentation — dependent on how much help New York gets in the next federal coronavirus stimulus package.
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The governor stated the state will have to cut school funding by $2 billion, Medicaid by $600 million, and impose 5 percent across-the-board reductions to New York City and local governments and social services for another $900 million if New York receives just $6 billion of an expected $350 billion earmarked for state and local governments under Biden’s suggested $1.12 trillion “American Rescue” package.
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Cuomo further said the state would have to consider increasing income taxes on the wealthy that would generate another $1.5 billion — from a top rate of 8.82 percent to 10.8 percent. In New York City, the mixed state and local income tax rate on the rich would surge to 14.7 percent, the highest in the country. California has the highest income tax rate of 13.3 percent, accompanied by neighboring New Jersey at 10.75 percent and Connecticut at 7 percent.
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Meanwhile, Cuomo offered a nickel-and-dime tax — a $1 transaction fee on motorists who conduct transactions online — such as for license and registrations — to avoid hitting the local DMV office throughout the pandemic. That would raise just $1 million.
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Even with these severe actions, Albany would have to borrow billions more to seal the gap, the governor explained.
Though, New York would not have to cut funding to schools, local government and services, Medicaid, or postpone scheduled raises for government workers if Biden and the Democrat-led Congress provide $15 billion in aid to close the budget shortfall.
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