Mayor Warns Against Raising Taxes on Rich
Balancing the state's budget on the backs of its richest citizens could make New York City a less desirable place to do business and even lead residents to move away, Mayor Bloomberg cautioned yesterday at a press conference in Queens.
"I think at this point, where we're in competition with other cities around the world for entrepreneurs and the best and the brightest, it's not the time to be raising taxes," he said in response to a question about a proposal by some Democratic Assembly members to raise income taxes by 12% on residents making more than $1 million a year. Supporters of the tax say it would raise $1.5 billion in state revenue a year and help to close a looming budget gap.
In criticizing the tax, the mayor contrasted the proposal with his congestion pricing plan, saying commuters could avoid congestion fees by changing their behavior. "They have an alternative — the alternative is to take mass transit," Mr. Bloomberg said. "If you were to raise taxes on a particular group of people, their alternative is moving out of the city and taking with it all of the revenues that they would generate."
Mr. Bloomberg's proposed congestion pricing program faces steep opposition in both the City Council and the state Legislature. With less than three weeks remaining before a federal deadline to pass the plan, the mayor indicated that he would devote great effort in the coming days to addressing lawmakers' concerns. "We're trying to work our way through this and, as people raise questions, assuage their fears or come up to a solution to their problems if they're legitimate," he said yesterday. "And we are working very hard." He cited Tuesday's announcement of a new residential parking plan as an example of one concession to the plan's critics, some of whom had expressed concerns that the congestion pricing zone could lead to neighborhoods being clogged with commuters avoiding the fee by parking there.
The mayor said he had not yet spoken with Lieutenant Governor David Paterson, who will take over as governor on Monday, about his position on congestion pricing, but said he had heard indirect reports that he was supportive. Mr. Paterson, asked later that day about congestion pricing at his first press conference as incoming governor, said, "We're taking a look at it."
A reporter asked whether Governor Spitzer's resignation, coupled with news reports that Council Member Dennis Gallagher of Queens may resign as part of a plea deal on rape charges, might make voters feel disillusioned with their leaders. The mayor replied that things couldn't get much worse. "You know, when you hit rock bottom, you can't continue to dig very hard," Mr. Bloomberg said. "The late-night talk show people joke about it, but it's not a joke. Tragedy is taking place and, most importantly, our city, state, federal governments all suffer when you have things like what's occurred recently."
Later, Mr. Bloomberg signed legislation issuing permits to 1,000 fruit and vegetable carts to operate in poor neighborhoods across the five boroughs as part of an effort to improve city residents' diets. Mr. Bloomberg had previously requested that the council add 1,500 carts, but after resistance from council members and grocery store owners who said the carts could hurt local businesses, the plan was reduced in scope to ensure its passage.
The mayor also signed a bill that fines landlords found to repeatedly harass their tenants by damaging their property, launching frivolous lawsuits, or undertaking other actions to force them into leaving. Landlords who violate the law will be forced to pay fines of between $1,000 and $5,000.
