New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo speaks at a news conference on September 8, 2020 in New York City.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images
A group of 250 CEOs and business leaders sent a letter to the New York governor and lawmakers expressing “alarm” over what they say could become the largest increase in spending and taxes in the state’s history.
The letter, delivered to Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Democratic members of the state Assembly and Senate, urged politicians to postpone any tax increases until New York State and City have recovered more. of the pandemic and the workers returned. As employers of more than 1.5 million people, executives said many of their workers have left the city and that if taxes are increased “they will vote with their feet”.
“Only about 10% of our colleagues are in the office and the future prospects of a dense urban workplace are uncertain,” the letter said. “Many members of our staff have resettled their families elsewhere, usually with much lower taxes than those in New York, and the proposed tax increases will make it difficult to refund.”
Signatories to the letters include JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, BlackRock Inc. President and CEO Larry Fink, Pfizer President and CEO Albert Bourla, Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser , and JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes. The group said that “significant corporate and corporate tax increases will make it much more difficult to restart the economic engine and reassemble the profound and diverse talent pool that makes New York the largest city in the world.”
“It’s not about companies threatening to leave the state; it’s just about voting with their feet,” the letter said. “Ultimately, these new taxes can lead to a significant loss of economic activity and revenue, as companies are pressured to relocate operations to the place where talent wants to live and work. This is what happened in Nova York during the 1970s, when we lost half of our fortune 500 companies, and it took thirty years to recover. “
Governor Cuomo’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Democratic members of the state Assembly and Senate have proposed a series of tax increases on businesses and high winners that could exceed $ 6 billion a year. They say the pandemic has increased inequality in New York and that higher taxes are needed on businesses and high earners to fund social programs and reduce the wealth gap.
However, New York’s budget landscape has recently improved. The state will receive unrestricted $ 12.5 billion in federal stimulus law and New York State Director Robert Mujica said the stimulus funds and tax revenue are stronger than they are. ‘wait would allow the state to avoid planned budget cuts.
The group said it understands the “urgent human needs” and inequalities exposed by the pandemic, but that the proposed tax increases or policy changes should come after New York’s recovery.
“Once we are on a path to recovering more than a million jobs and thousands of small businesses that New York has lost in the last twelve months, we may need to increase new revenue to cover the shortcomings in our education, health and social welfare systems, ”the letter said.
Rebecca Bailin, director of Investment Campaigns in our New York, an effort to fund social programs by taxing the rich, said the letter was “250 rich people in their homes claiming the status quo.”