ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is calling for tax cuts to help more than 1 million small businesses - one of several proposals announced Tuesday as Cuomo unveils his top priorities in 2016.
The Democratic governor’s plan calls for a two-pronged tax reduction that would save businesses nearly $300 million.
The current corporate income tax rate for small businesses would be reduced from 6.5 to 4 percent, with the size of the cut dependent on the company’s net income. The cut would give small businesses a tax advantage over larger businesses - a benefit they used to enjoy until lawmakers voted to lower taxes for bigger businesses to the same level.
For small business owners that pay the personal income tax rate, Cuomo is proposing to increase and expand a tax break that now goes to sole proprietorships and farms. The break allows eligible businesses to subtract 5 percent of their income for tax purposes; Cuomo would increase that to 15 percent and expand the break to cover more businesses.
Cuomo will detail the proposals on Jan. 13 during his annual State of the State address that lays out the governor’s priorities for the year. The Legislature will begin the 2016 session on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Cuomo told an audience in Long Island that tax cuts are an essential part of his plan to improve the economy and are made possible by careful cuts in state spending.
“We said we were going to cut spending,” he said. “We said we were going to stop the tax increase that happened year after year. Because we spent less, we could tax less.”
Cuomo also announced proposals to spend $250 million on drinking water and waste water upgrades over two years, set aside $100 million for local downtown revitalization efforts and boost New York’s environmental protection fund by $123 million, increasing available money to buy land and conservation easements, protect farmland, fight invasive species and revive waterfronts.
During his appearance on Long Island, the governor also proposed large investments in local transportation, including a third line of track on the Long Island railroad in Nassau County and $5 million to study the long-discussed possibility of constructing a tunnel between the island and either the Bronx, Westchester County, or Connecticut.
“Long Island - it’s an island, it’s a peninsula, call it what you will,” Cuomo said. “But the geographic design of Long Island poses assets and liabilities … We need to consider ambitious access proposals.”
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