Assemblyman Karl Brabenec (R,C,I- Deerpark) is disheartened by the Majority’s one-house budget proposal to increase state spending by 22.6% and to raise taxes in the midst of an economic crisis.

“Increasing state spending and raising taxes are the last things we should be proposing in our budget,” said Brabenec. “Our residents and businesses were subject to exorbitant and reckless spending, even before the pandemic. This proposal effectively kicks New Yorkers while they are down.”

Supporters of the Legislature’s budget proposal claim the tax increases target the ultra-rich, in an effort to make them pay their “fair share,” but economists point out that if this proposal were to become law, top marginal tax rate on residents of New York would be the highest they have been since the 1970s.

“Over recent years, careless spending and ever-increasing tax burdens on New Yorkers created an economic environment that consistently wears on our businesses and communities,” said Brabenec. “The budget proposal from the Majority expands on that abuse even more, raising taxes on New Yorkers as we try to economically recover from the pandemic, and increasing an already out-of-control list of expenditures by 22.6%.

“While the proposal does have some good points scattered throughout, I am alarmed by the effects this will have on our state’s economy. If this budget is accepted, residents of New York City will be burdened with the single highest effective tax rates in the country, businesses across our state will have a harder time recovering from the pandemic and the exodus out of New York for more economically-friendly states will only accelerate.”