I can't figure out if New York's Governor David Paterson is being a Christmas Scrooge or an Old Fezziwig. On Tuesday, he announced a whopping 137 new taxes and hikes for the people of New York to shoulder. The Governor's Scroogery will be coming in many forms of taxes like these:
-A 4 percent tax on cable TV and satellite services, raising a $100 bill by $4;-Elimination of the law that caps the state sales tax on gasoline at 8 cents per gallon; and-A 4 percent sales tax on clothing and shoes under $500, except for two weeks out of the year.
And that's just three of the governor's ideas. If that wasn't enough it looks like his administration is really going after auto transportation by not only lifting the gas tax cap but also:
-Boosting the average vehicle registration fee for drivers by $11; -Fees for new or renewed licenses also would increase by $12; and-Mandating that all drivers would have to get new "reflectorized" license plates at a fee of $25 each.
The icing on the auto cake is for those folks who finally decide it's not worth driving their personal cars anymore – a 4% tax increase on taxi and bus rides.
So, what's making the governor resemble the Old Fezziwig? I'd say it's the $1.4 billion spending increase, after the tax hikes, he's presenting to the people of New York as a festive gift to the government.
To Paterson's credit however, he has cut the New York inevitable spending increase from 9% down to 1%. But he needs to nickel and dime the state's residents to pay for it because of Wall Street's current inability to contribute via the state income tax, capital gains tax, and dividend tax.
If businesses were considering leaving New York, now is the time to go – I understand Texas is nice…
– Mike Joyce