Governor Pataki’s proposed budget will seriously damage our already ailing health care system and raise taxes on New Yorkers trying to save money.

Taxing New York’s struggling hospitals

      Despite the fact that New York hospitals have lost money six years in a row and more than half the state’s hospitals failed to break even, the governor has proposed a $264 million “sick tax.” Already, Westchester families have faced the closing of St. Agnes Hospital in White Plains in 2003. Most recently, New York United Hospital Medical Center in Port Chester – a 116-year-old institution – announced it too is shutting down.

       Under the governor’s recent budget proposal, funding for hospitals in our community would be cut by over $68 million in the first year and $273 million in the next five years. These cuts and taxes will jeopardize the health and well-being of our families; we cannot sit back while the governor threatens access to quality health care.

Hitting Westchester families with hidden taxes and fees

      While the governor’s proposal is promising a $200 tax rebate in 2011, it does nothing for those who have to pay more than $2.5 billion in higher taxes and fees he is once again proposing, including:

·        a sales tax on clothing – replacing the permanent clothing exemption with two, one-week exemptions per year;

·        a 40 percent increase in the state’s mortgage tax, a more than $700 increase for the average Westchester homebuyer;

·        new and increased DMV fees totaling $290 million, including hiking registration fees by 33 percent for most passenger vehicles and as much as 75 percent for certain vehicles;

·        a more than 32 percent increase in camping fees; and

·        a whopping 450 percent increase in ATV registration fees.

      The governor’s administration proposes increasing tolls on the New York State Thruway by as much as 35 percent, and increasing tolls on other highways. And, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) also intends to again increase fares and tolls, while cutting jobs and services.

      Unfortunately, the governor has also proposed a plan to privatize some public roads. The plan would allow private companies to manage and charge tolls on the roads, while receiving tax benefits through depreciation. Simply put, the management of New York’s infrastructure must remain accountable to taxpayers and not handed over to a private company with a handful of taxpayer dollars.

Attack from Washington

      To put further strain on our pocketbooks, the Bush Administration has proposed eliminating the deductibility of state and local taxes as part of its broad overhaul of the federal tax system. Westchester families already pay an extraordinary amount of property taxes and state income taxes, but the deduction of state and local taxes has been a major benefit for us. However, it has been estimated that eliminating this deduction would cause New Yorkers to pay an additional $39 billion in federal taxes.

      We need strong leadership from our governor; he needs to use his influence with Congress and the president to lobby against this costly measure. Balancing the budget, either on a state or federal level, on the backs of New York families is not a viable option. Finally, failing to invest in New York’s health care facilities and picking the pockets of families is not the way to build a better New York. I’ll continue to fight the attempt to balance the budget at the expense of our own health and well-being and will continue to oppose misguided tax policies that will be detrimental to all New Yorkers..