Gov. Andrew Cuomo and legislative leaders on Tuesday announced an agreement on the state’s overdue budget that includes approximately $ 4 billion in new taxes, legal sports betting and unemployment benefits for illegal immigrants.
The $ 212 billion spending plan, which was due to expire on April 1, exceeds last year’s $ 194 billion price to account for the economic losses from the coronavirus crisis.
“New York was ambushed early and was the hardest hit by COVID, devastating our economy and requiring urgent and unprecedented emergency spending to manage the pandemic,” Cuomo said.
“Thanks to the strong fiscal management of the state and its relentless pursuit of the federal support the pandemic required, we are not only balancing our budget, but we are also making historic investments to reimagine, rebuild and renovate New York after the worse health and health. economic crisis in a century “.
Lawmakers began voting on the bills in the Senate and State Assembly on Tuesday afternoon, and the process is expected to bleed through Wednesday night, as the three remaining bills out of ten.
“We understood that all budget bills have been agreed in three ways maybe they are still at some level of process, but we will be ready to start talking, probably with the need for messages,” the state finance president said. of the Senate, Liz Krueger said on the floor of the state Senate during the debate.
Cuomo and state lawmakers clashed over big-budget budget items, including the tax hike that will impose a roughly 1% increase on New Yorkers who earn more than $ 1 million a year and set new tax brackets for the most winning in the state.
The state corporate franchise tax will also increase to 7.25%, from 6.5% for three years, although the rate will remain the same for companies earning less than $ 5 million.
“This is not a tax increase for the vast majority of New Yorkers,” Krueger said during the debate. “It’s relatively small, with about 50,000 taxpayers, who are at the richest end of the scale, even during an economic and pandemic crisis.”
But others, including two New York mayoral candidates, say the tax hikes will lead to an exodus of much-needed city revenue as residents and businesses seek greener pastures in lesser states and cities. heavy.
Another highlight was the “Excluded Worker Fund,” which will allocate $ 2.1 billion in unemployment benefits to undocumented workers who, on the other hand, are not eligible for federal funds. The question of the active button led to a stalemate between the progressive Democrats of New York City and the moderate Democrats of the American and suburban districts.
The parties have also agreed to legalize mobile sports betting, which lawmakers say will increase revenue this fiscal year by $ 99 million and up to $ 500 million by 2025-26.
This year’s budget also amounts to $ 2.4 billion in emergency rental assistance and will give an annual boost of $ 1.4 billion over the next three years to public schools across the state. About $ 105 million will be spent to expand universal preschool to 210 districts that do not yet have the program underway.
Also included is the reform of nursing homes: these facilities will have to spend at least 70 percent of their income on patient care and 40 percent on staff for residents. And $ 64 million will go to increase the workforce.