Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,I,C – Batavia) recently responded to the introduction of a new income tax on business owners and individuals, expressing his frustration that the Assembly Majority insists on beating a dead horse with an extension of the income surcharge on New York’s job creators and high earners. The measure has consistently been opposed by Governor Andrew Cuomo, the Senate Majority, and the Assembly Minority.

“Trying to force new income taxes through the Legislature is like trying to pound a square peg into a round hole,” said Hawley. “The Governor doesn’t support it. The Senate doesn’t support it. Our Assembly Minority conference doesn’t support it.

“This is a dead issue. During this year’s budget process, state government made a commitment to New Yorkers that we were not going to continue the broken process of tax-and-spend that has pushed businesses and families across state lines for years. We should be focusing on providing property tax relief to homeowners and mandate relief for local governments, rather than finding new ways to kill jobs and punish success.”

According to data from the Treasury Department released in 2009, 71 percent of similarly-structured income taxes come from business owners and investors.