Senator Steve Saland: Let’s Create Jobs, Not Kill Jobs With Tax Hikes

“We hear it on the television and read it in the newspapers – Americans are losing their jobs at an alarming rate,” said Senator Steve Saland (R,I,C Poughkeepsie). “In fact, it was recently reported that more than 78,000 Americans lost their jobs in one day. That’s proof positive that job creation initiatives must be part of the 2009-10 State Budget to turn around the economy in New York and the Hudson Valley.”

“The economic downturn has hit our region very hard. Announced layoffs at IBM and looming at NXP create a major impact on communities throughout the Hudson Valley,” said Senator Saland. “More than 43,000 New Yorkers lost their jobs last month and thousands more could be at risk. When taxes are raised on already overburdened taxpayers and businesses, they may choose to leave New York, taking jobs with them. One of my priorities has always been to reduce the tax burden, not just on property taxpayers but also on businesses in the Hudson Valley so they can create jobs, not cut them. The Governor’s proposal to practically gut the Empire Zone Program is a threat to local businesses in the Poughkeepsie/Dutchess County Empire Zone. They could find that the State has abandoned its commitment to them, causing even more layoffs.”

Recent announcements by IBM and NXP mean close to 1,600 local workers may soon join the ranks of the unemployed. Since December 2007, New York has lost more than 122,000 jobs and the current unemployment rate in the Hudson Valley has risen to 6.5 percent.

“There is a direct correlation between cutting taxes, creating jobs and helping the economy,” Senator Saland said. “Job creation must be an integral part of this year’s Budget. Senate Republicans proposed and passed an omnibus job creation plan last December. I urge the Governor not to abandon programs and ideas that we know create jobs. Along with the federal economic stimulus package, we can get New Yorkers working and earning once again to help grow our way out of this recession.”