SYRACUSE — CenterState CEO and local-government officials on Wednesday expressed hope that state lawmakers would adopt Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s $2 billion tax-relief proposal in the next state budget.
Cuomo’s proposal, which will freeze property taxes for two years, is expected to create economic opportunity across the region and state, they say. The officials spoke during a roundtable discussion on Wednesday at the Tech Garden.
It is “refreshing” to start the year with a series of reforms and proposals that could “meaningfully” move the state forward economically, Robert Simpson, president and CEO of CenterState CEO, said in a news release about the event.
“Rather than preparing to fend off further escalations in New York’s already crushing tax burden, Gov. Cuomo has laid out plans to provide property-tax relief for homeowners; tax reductions for upstate manufacturers, cutting their corporate-tax rate to zero; calling for estate-tax reform that will greatly benefit small-business owners, and modernizing the corporate-tax structure with a reduction in the corporate-franchise tax,” Simpson said.
The tax cuts for businesses and manufacturers will attract investments and jobs, Randall Wolken, president of the Manufacturers Association of Central New York, said in the news release.
“The corporate income-tax rate would be the lowest it’s been since 1968. Additionally, upstate manufacturers would see their corporate income-tax rate go to zero and receive a credit equal to 20 percent of the firm’s property tax bill,” Wolken said.
Besides the potential benefits to the business community, Cuomo’s two-year freeze on property taxes has the potential to provide nearly 2.8 million homeowners with close to $1 billion in relief — with an average benefit of about $350, CenterState CEO said.
Additionally, homeowners could benefit under the property tax circuit-breaker proposal. The credit would be worth $1 billion in tax relief when fully phased in, CenterState CEO said.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com