Merrick-Bellmore senator pleased with Albany reform

To the Editor:

I am pleased to say that the New York State Legislature and Governor Cuomo recently worked together in a bipartisan fashion to address the right priorities needed to help our economy grow: cutting taxes, creating jobs and upgrading our infrastructure. In stark contrast to Washington, which is plagued by partisan gridlock, New York state is addressing the critical issues we face and delivering the results that residents expect and deserve.

Working together, we delivered $690 million in personal income tax

relief for more than 4.4 million taxpayers, allowing them to keep more of their hard-earned money. Middle-class taxpayers will see the lowest tax rates in 50 years, and no New York State resident will see an increase in the income tax rate they are currently paying.

We also cut taxes and reduced business costs, which is critically

important for economic development. The MTA payroll tax will be eliminated for nearly 80 percent of the businesses currently paying it. This tax, which I strongly opposed, has been a burden on small businesses, which raised costs and discouraged job creation. Eliminating this tax will help businesses save money, which can be reinvested into creating jobs and growing their business.

Additionally, we took a great first step toward addressing our

state’s infrastructure crisis with a fund that will raise $1 billion in private capital dedicated to infrastructure improvement projects. In addition, we gave the state’s principal transportation agencies the flexibility to use design-build procurement methods to expedite critical infrastructure projects. Both of these measures will help create jobs and get our economy moving forward. The state should also

build on these steps by continuing to explore public-private partnerships as a way to finance and deliver infrastructure projects and put people back to work.

These are all positive steps in the right direction for New York

that build upon the successes of this past year –– elimination of a $10

billion budget deficit, spending reduction and new tax relief. I look

forward to continuing that work in the coming year.

Charles Fuschillo Jr.

New York State senator

Eighth District