Like our friends up in the RenCen citadel, New York State has been taking in less than it spends. In a big way. In fact, The Empire State has racked-up a $15.4b deficit. A fact that somehow didn’t make it into The New York Times story on Governor Paterson’s plans to drain $9b from Albany’s pig trough and tax the beJesus out of anything that moves or breathes within his state’s boundaries. We’re talking 137 new or increased taxes and fees. And guess who takes it on the metaphorical chin? iPod users! Not to mention… “The tax on car rentals would rise to 6 percent from 5 percent… Taxes on gasoline, cable and satellite TV service, cigars and flavored malt beverages would also go up. And the cost of owning and operating a car would rise significantly, with 16 fee increases.” Including (but not mentioned in the article) a five percent tax on any vehicle that sells for over $60k. TTAC’s UK readers will roll their eyes at any idea that NY drivers will crumble under the yoke of such a puny extra burden, but it looks like a slippery slope to me.
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United
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I did once admire Newt Gingrich’s suggestion that instead of paying our taxes out of our paychecks, purchases, registrations, etc…that we get to keep ALL of our money day to day and like a business, we would all pay quarterly by going down to the post office and paying up all the taxes, hidden and obvious, that we would have been charged for that business quarter.
He suggested that this country would have tax reform most swiftly as Americans, when all of the hidden taxes became obvious and placed on the table in front of them, would be incredulous and refuse to pay it all…but because our government takes our money in little bites, the average American just pays it without much complaint.
New York has enough taxes already…balance your budget Governor.
Pols never learn from history… that when you raise taxes on something, people will consume less of it, and reduce the overall tax revenue to the government.
You totally missed the proposal to put in speed cameras for 100 million per year revenue expected.
Luckily the Legislature of NY is less camera crazy than the Governor is.
I live in Califonria. We laugh at a puny little deficit like $15.4B. We “balanced” our budget 3 months late only to awake to the reality less than two months later that state tax revenues were down. One of the measures that the governor has proposed is a 13 cent per gallon increase in the state gas tax. Gas tax revenues are supposed to be dedicated to road improvements and maintenance. Of course, that hasn’t stopped the state government from using these taxes to balance the general fund in the past while our roads go to h-e-double hockey sticks.
What do you mean the predominantly Democratic Socialist states are the worst off when it comes time to budget? People (tax payers)- and more importantly businesses – are moving out because they don’t like footing other people’s bills.
It’s unfortunate they are all moving here (CO)… FWIT – 19.2bn, a 3% increase, short because people are (were and will again) buy less gas when the price was high.
Learn how to spend less than you earn!
California and New Jersey are in just as bad shape. These bloated budget states all have multi billion dollar deficits. Trust me they will all be lining up for a “Bailout/Handout” from the messiah on 1/21/09.
These states are all liberal bastions and are ruled by the democrat machine. The teachers/police/fire unions are one of leading reasons these states are bankrupt………sound familiar? Maybe they should consult Rick W for some sage advice regarding running a hugh multi billion dollar bureaucracy.
Instead of trying to steal money from us using the Federal Mafia in DC, GM should just declare themselves to be a ‘government’ and use their own guns and jails to steal other people’s earnings…Cut out the middle-man.
These states are all liberal bastions and are ruled by the democrat machine. The teachers/police/fire unions are one of leading reasons these states are bankrupt………sound familiar? Maybe they should consult Rick W for some sage advice regarding running a hugh multi billion dollar bureaucracy…
Yeah, that must be it. How about the fat cats (which NY and CA have plenty of) paying the same percentage of their income in taxes that those firemen pay?
That being said, note that almost all of those “nickel and dime” taxes hit the middle class the most…funny how that works. I do support including non carbonated beverage containers into the deposit law, though. Helps big time with litter and is completely avoidable if you bring ’em back.
There isn’t a revenue problem, there is a spending problem. Until spending is addressed, this problem will not go away.
I know there are alot of people shouting socialism and class warfare, etc,etc
But as a Middle Class New Yorker who makes about $75,000 a year, pays my taxes,etc…
the way I see it, they are imposing taxes on the wrong people. What’s funny is, the rich here get away with paying as little as possible while the rest of us making under $150,000 a year are the ones being abused. Bloombergs plans to toll entry/exit from manhattan would have made some money but been disastrous for trafffic congestion as well as wear/tear on our bridges and roads. There are very few ways into Manhattan from the other 4 boros – for example: 4 bridges and 1 tunnel – and traffic is f’ed up every single day. Adding a toll wouldn’t decrease the drivers entering/exiting the city, but, would simply add congestion during peak times.
They wanted to do this simply so they could make the city more “walkable” for pedestrians and more comfortable for the rich living there. They even claimed they were going to add more sidewalk to streets like broadway for eating in front of restaraunts.
If they really are in such a deficit, why aren’t they revoking all these privaledges given to authorities who park illegaly – or, going after Wall Street bankers and their ponzi schemes and other various fraudulent dealings.
Pols never learn from history… that when you raise taxes on something, people will consume less of it, and reduce the overall tax revenue to the government.
I think you’re missing the point.
This is tax as an enforcement of social policy. They are trying to dissuade the use of cars, just like cigarette taxes dissuade people from smoking, and why I don’t pay sales tax on, for example, bicycles and certain types of fitness equipment, or why transit passes are often tax-deductable.
New York is deciding that either a) they feel like being progressive or b) more cars on the road costs them money, and this tax is a way to get that cost down. Either are perfectly valid, and if people vote the same leaders into office again, democratically legitimate.
Just because you don’t agree with it, doesn’t make it wrong.
I’d love to see NY “be more progressive” by spending less and/or balancing its budget.
The fact that it costs around $15 in tolls to cross the state on I-90 strikes me as totally ridiculous.
The really painful shoe yet to drop is the coming ~20% property tax increase.
NY State is especially slimy in mandating all sorts of costs on county governments (like 1/2 the cost of a Medicaid program that costs more than California & Texas combined) and local school districts. Patterson’s budget reduces the amount of state financial support for these mandates while expecting localities to continue funding them.
If you own a modest $150K home in the ‘burbs of Syracuse/Rochester/Buffalo, your current $10K annual property tax bill may soon seem like a bargain.
kowsnofskia:
The fact that it costs around $15 in tolls to cross the state on I-90 strikes me as totally ridiculous.
Yes, that’s ridiculous.
What’s INSANE is having to drive 10 miles east or west out of your way to simply CROSS the NY State Thruway.
Or the complete lack of entrances / exits on certain sections that adds congestion to local roads.
Or the lack of toll / E-Z Pass lanes at certain exits where people are backed up for 10 minutes to pay.
But those Thruway workers who collect cash and who hand out toll slips (evidently a task that can’t be automated in NY State) have great pensions with excellent medical benefits…
So I’m sensing a lot of 10000+ dollar warranties on $59999 cars in the future of New York.
@psarhjinian
I was referring to property tax, payroll tax, income tax, taxes on businesses, etc. The big stuff that will encourage people to either not move to, or move out of New York.
You know, the stuff that encourages people to not eat at restaurants, hire a new employee, etc.
A real shame that people have taxes taken out of their paychecks, included in meals, included in cell phone bills, etc. If you had to pay a once/quarter check for all the taxes you pay, you’d be much more resistant to paying a nickel more.
It’s stunning to see people that don’t realize how much they already pay in taxes.
@ kowsnofskia:
You can avoid many of the tolls to cross NY State by taking 86 across the southern part of the state. Then it becomes a matter of getting off at the appropriate N-S road.
The best lie about the NYS Thruway tollbooths was, “Oh yeah, we’ll remove them after the original debt is paid off!”
LMFAO!
@ ihatetrees:
Agreed about the tax bills. Here in the city of Rochester it is typical to pay $3-4k in property taxes on a $100-$120k home! Unfortunately this large tax bill doesn’t seem to help the quality of the city schools.
Then again, we have some brilliant public officials here. A few years ago they threw away $40 million trying to start up a ferry to Toronto.
So, we are going to cut spending now?
How do you propose to do that?
We could shut down the schools.
Fire all the cops and firefighters.
Maybe release all the prisoners from jails.
Stop building and repairing roads.
If you want schools, cops, firefighters, jails, and roads, you’ve got to pay for them somehow. If you don’t, I’m sure you can catch a flight to Somalia.
Also keep in mind that most states aren’t allowed to run a budget deficit (unlike the Federal government). So, when economic times are bad, they have to raise taxes. Now, they should be allowed to run a deficit, because raising taxes in poor economic times is a bad idea, but that’s the situation.
The state shouldn’t cut spending – I deserve all of the services it currently provides.
The state shouldn’t raise my income taxes – it should raise income taxes on someone else.
The state shouldn’t tax the behaviors that I want to engage in – it should tax the behaviors that others engage in.
@ Geotpf:
I’m saying stupid spending should be cut. The $40 million tax dollars Rochester wasted on the ferry to Toronto is a perfect example of this.
No one from Toronto is going to come to Rochester. Repeat business from the NY side would probably be a very small % of tickets sold. It’s doubtful you could ever load and move enough freight to make a profit.
In light of all that, the city was moronic enough to give the money to a bunch of hucksters with no prior experience running a profitable ferry operation.
These clowns then ran out and spec’d a custom ferry that had its hull built in Australia and used some flaky German diesels for its powerplants rather than a CAT or Detroit Diesel mill.
That $40 million is now lost after the ferry operation went into bankruptcy. They were able to recover some costs through the sale of the boat, but the city still has nothing to show for that stupid spending.
How much is that $40 million compared to the whole budget?
One should expect from their representatives that they try not to was money, not that they don’t was money.