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Cuomo: “Significant” Tax Hikes Not Needed for Budget
By  City of Albany
PUBLISHED 2:11 PM ET Mar. 22, 2021

There’s good news for people who want to get back to the normal Albany debates of the before times: Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration on Monday signaled there isn’t a need for “significant” increases in taxes for the state budget this year. 

The stance potentially puts Cuomo at odds with Democratic state lawmakers, who have proposed measures to increase taxes on upper income earners and the financial industry that would generate $7 billion. 

The budget is expected to pass by the end of next week. 

Cuomo’s top budget advisor Robert Mujica in a conference call with reporters pointed to more than $5 billion “resources available” that would restore cuts initially planned in the governor’s budget plan first released in January.

At the time, the budget took a low-end view of a potential federal stimulus as well as tax revenue. Both sources of revenue have come in higher than that budget anticipated: ���������� is set to receive $12.5 billion from the federal government, a massive one-shot of money meant to offset revenue losses during the COVID-19 pandemic last year. 

That funding, in turn, is meant to prevent spending reductions planned for schools, health care and other state-funded programs. 

Meanwhile, revenue to the state is recovering at a faster pace than initially projected. 

“So you wouldn’t require any significant level in tax increases,” Mujica said. 

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Cuomo budget director says state has extra $5B
By Anna Gronewold   Politico  March 22, 2021  4:05 pm

Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s budget director says the state has $5 billion more than the administration anticipated when building a budget proposal in January.

Robert Mujica told reporters during the governor’s press call on Monday that federal aid and higher-than-expected revenues this year contributed to the cash influx and will allow the administration to avoid restoring harsh cuts that might have been otherwise necessary.

That means that the state will also be able to cover some one-time, Covid-19 related expenses, such as rent relief, he said, and can consider additional spending items for the budget due by March 31.

Background: The Cuomo administration had on the prospect of $6 billion in federal aid. ���������� received at least double that amount in the most recent relief package passed by Congress.

What’s next: Mujica said Senate, Assembly and executive chamber “staffs are meeting 18 hours a day to move forward and get to an agreement by the end of the month” on new spending items and how they might be financed. While the additional funds don’t negate the large tax increases proposed by the Legislature, Mujica’s announcement could signal that a Cuomo administration already hesitant to raise taxes on the wealthy will find the concept even less appealing.