Written by: Joseph Spector [3]
ALBANY — For about 4.4 million middle-class New Yorkers, the deal [4] crafted by Gov. Andrew Cuomo and passed by the Legislature on Wednesday will mean an income-tax cut of $300 to $400 a year.
Nearly 80 percent of small businesses in the Metropolitan Transportation Authority region downstate will no longer have to pay a payroll tax — saving them at least $250 million a year.
For upstate communities hit by tropical storms Irene and Lee, the state is doling out $50 million in grants — up to $20,000 for each affected business. Inner-city job programs for youth are getting $87 million.
All are the results of a $2.6 billion deal crafted by Cuomo to continue higher taxes [4] on the rich, but at the same time spread plenty of holiday cheer to constituents around the state, lawmakers and political experts said. He initially pledged to let an income-tax surcharge on the rich expire at year’s end…
The achievements of the one-day session are “a winning message for the governor if he decides to run for higher office,” said Sen. Greg Ball, R-Patterson, Putnam County, “and it’s certainly, on an individual basis, a winning message for our conference.” (READ MORE [5]).
