Albany Times Union - Opponents Denounce Spitzer's Tax Relief Plan
Albany Times Union - Opponents Denounce Spitzer's Tax Relief Plan
Democratic gubernatorial front-runner Eliot Spitzer's opponents unleashed a torrent of criticism Tuesday in response to his $6 billion property tax relief plan.
Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi, a Democratic challenger to Spitzer, questioned much of the $11 billion cost savings plan the state attorney general floated to pay for his tax cuts.
"If Eliot Spitzer's plan was a Wall Street firm, the attorney general would have indicted that plan, because it's fraudulent," Suozzi told the New York Conference of Mayors and Municipal Officials at the Gideon Putnam Resort and Spa in Saratoga Springs.
Republican gubernatorial candidate John Faso called the plan "artful deception" with "tax increases disguised as tax cuts."
Spitzer aides defended the package, which dramatically expands the STAR school tax exemption program to help middle-class taxpayers.
"As Eliot said, his plan is fully funded through budget savings, so we don't need tax increases to pay for it," said Spitzer spokeswoman Christine Anderson.
Faso, echoing some budget watchdogs, said the lack of a mandated school spending cap in Spitzer's plan could lead to property tax hikes.
Faso has proposed doubling STAR over four years and implementing a 4 percent annual cap on school tax increases.
The former Assembly minority leader also said closing corporate loopholes, which Spitzer maintains will save $960 million over three years, "really amounts to nothing more than a 10 percent tax increase on corporations."
Suozzi said Spitzer is more interested in high-profile investigations of Wall Street and other industries than fixing government.
Anderson criticized Suozzi's $2.15 billion school tax relief plan, which offers aid to school districts rather than homeowners, saying it would disproportionately help wealthy suburban districts.
Both Faso and Suozzi said Spitzer counts on $650 million in savings through public authorities reform over three years, which they said isn't possible since authorities have their own budgets.
Spitzer policy adviser Drew Warshaw said the Legislature could pass a bill requiring that savings from authorities reform go to the state general fund. Many of Spitzer's proposed cuts require cooperation from the Legislature.
http://tomsuozzi.com/news/atu-061306/