Contributed Photo Governor Cuomo delivers his 2014 State of the State Address on Wednesday, outlining a sweeping agenda which he claimed builds on the success of the last three years to change the direction of New York State: reducing spending below inflation and personal income growth for the first time in 40 years, transforming a $10 billion deficit into a $2 billion surplus, reducing unemployment in all ten regions of the state, creating nearly 400,000 new private sector jobs (the highest job creation in the state’s history), improving the state’s credit standing with all three rating agencies, and increasing exports by 15 percent.

Cuomo hints at what's to come

Story by Dan Hust
ALBANY — January 10, 2014 — Despite acknowledging that New York continues to be one of the highest-taxed states in the nation – and resultingly, one of the highest-fled states by businesses and residents – Governor Andrew Cuomo attempted to paint an upbeat picture during Wednesday’s State of the State Address in Albany.
He touted a variety of initiatives, including the two-percent property tax cap and more rigorous teacher evaluations, as successes, also pointing to the dropping unemployment rate.
Plenty from his speech has already been dissected and commented upon, but of particular interest to Sullivan County inhabitants were the following:
• A proposal to freeze property taxes for two years, so long as the local governments stay within the tax cap and take “concrete steps” to reduce costs (like sharing services or consolidating with neighboring governments)
• Create a refundable tax credit of up to $1,000 against the personal income tax of households earning less than $200,000 a year as a sort of “circuit breaker”
• Offer a sliding scale (based on family size) of refundable income tax credits to renters earning below $100,000 a year
• Eliminating corporate income taxes for upstate manufacturers
• Expand hunting, fishing and other outdoor activities and create an “Adventure” license that would incorporate a driver’s, hunting, fishing and boating license into one
• Create full-day universal pre-K
• Introduce an Emergency Management license plate, colored red, to provide responders better access to emergencies
• Create a SUNY College of Emergency Preparedness
• Move along the casino siting process on this timeline:
- January 2014: Gaming Facility Location Board appointed
- March 2014: Issue requests for casino applications
- June 2014: Bids due
- June-August 2014: Gaming Facility Location Board reviews, evaluates submissions
- Early Fall 2014: Commission commences licensing review of applicants
- Early Fall 2014: Casino siting and operators formally announced, construction on facilities begins