Faso, Spitzer Offer Plans For Economy

The Republican and Democratic candidates for governor of New York yesterday offered dueling strategies for rousing the state economy, with John Faso prescribing deep business and personal tax cuts and Eliot Spitzer offering a package of changes that he said would “reduce the cost of doing business.”Unveiling a sweeping tax-cutting plan less than seven weeks before the general election, Mr. Faso said he would eliminate the state personal income taxes for more than a million lower-income New Yorkers and phase out taxes on capital gains.When fully implemented, Mr. Faso’s plan would reduce state government revenue by $11 billion a year, the candidate said, and would be paid for by freezing state spending for at least a year and slowing it down thereafter. In the last four years, state spending has risen $16 billion, or 25%, according to the campaign.Mr. Spitzer’s plan for sparking business growth relies less on tax cuts than on changing regulations that he says are dragging down the economy. He said his plans wouldn’t favor business or labor but would restore New York’s competitiveness by ending “the trench warfare in Albany.”He would restrict the state Wicks law, which is blamed for adding to construction costs, to public projects costing more than $2 million in the city and $1 million outside.As it stands, the Wicks law, which has the support of the building trades labor unions, requires government entities to issue separate contracts for plumbing, electrical, and heating/ventilation/air conditioning, and a general contractor for projects more than $50,000, a threshold that hasn’t changed since 1964. Mr. Faso has called for totally eliminating the Wicks law.To rein in New York’s workers’ compensation program, one of the most costly in the nation, Mr. Spitzer said he would create an inspector general for compensation fraud, establish retraining programs to get employees back to work sooner, and consider imposing a time limit on partial disability payments, which can extend for a lifetime.Mr. Spitzer’s business plan also drew heavily on his existing proposals dealing with health care and energy. He called for more generating capacity, sponsoring the development of clean coal, and steering state subsidized low-cost energy only to companies that need it to compete.In Bolton Landing, Mr. Faso and Mr. Spitzer both outlined their plans in back-to-back speeches before the annual meeting of the Business Council of New York State, a pro-business lobbying group based in Albany.For Mr. Faso, a former assemblyman who is looking to gain notice in a race dominated by Mr. Spitzer’s celebrity and popularity, it was an opportunity to draw a distinction between his policies and that of the attorney general’s. Mr. Spitzer has not proposed income tax cuts or business tax cuts, though he has spoken of the need for property tax relief.Among the highlights of Mr. Faso’s plan were:• Eliminating the state personal income taxes for married couples earning up to $50,000 and for single individuals earning up to $25,000. Their rates currently range between 4% and 6.85%.• Lowering the top marginal rate to 6.25% from 6.85%.• Reducing the number of brackets to four from five.• Phasing out over four years taxes on capital gains and dividends, making New York the only state to offer such an exemption. He would also instantly get rid of taxes on new capital investment.• Eliminating the state’s 16% estate tax, labeled the “death tax” by critics.Mr. Faso said a married couple earning $50,00 and with two children would save $1,533 a year. A single individual earning $35,000 would save $949.Mr. Faso’s tax plan emerged from conversations he had with CNBC television host and economist Lawrence Kudlow, a proponent of supply-side economic policies who has also advised Governor Pataki. Earlier this month, Mr. Kudlow complained in a posting on the “Corner” blog on the Web site of National Review magazine that Mr. Faso was failing to “propose any meaningful measures.”Yesterday, Mr. Kudlow said his prodding worked: “Instead of turning a punitive cold shoulder to investment, he’s now welcoming them with open arms by saying investment will be tax free.”The AP quoted Mr. Spitzer as doubting that Mr. Faso would follow through. “A politician who offers you a tax cut without a plan to pay for it will not cut your taxes,” he said. Mr. Faso has criticized Mr. Spitzer for not having a plan to pay for the tens of billions in new spending he has promised on education and health care.

Faso, Spitzer Offer Plans For Economy

Faso, Spitzer Offer Plans For Economy

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