Cuomo Defends NY’s Exorbitant Tax Rate as Trump Relocates to Florida

By: Mike Mustiglione

Disgusted with the way the Democrats are running his home state, President Donald Trump’s decided last week to relocate to Florida – and Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s isn’t happy about it.

Cuomo stuck up for his questionable fiscal policies at a press conference the day following Trump’s announcement, which was based on the state’s exorbitant tax rates.

“Every New Yorker pays a lower tax rate today than the day I was elected—every New Yorker at every income level,” Cuomo said. “The state spending increases are at a record low.”

“The governor alluded to his conservative first-term moves, which included a property tax cap on the counties outside New York City and the reduction—though not elimination—of the state’s “millionaire’s tax.” He also highlighted his perennial pledge to only increase spending by 2% a year, which critics argue is an illusion created through a number of budgetary tricks,” according to a piece in Crain’s New York Business. “Cuomo maintained that, if high-income earners residing in the Empire State are paying more, it’s Trump’s own fault. The governor railed again against the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act—perhaps the Republican administration’s signature achievement—which capped state and local tax deductions at $10,000.”

“The real question on Mr. Trump—first, I believe, my hypothesis is that Mr. Trump changed his residence for legal purposes,” Cuomo added. “He’s leaving New York. I don’t believe he was ever a New Yorker anyway. Because living in New York does not make you a New Yorker. To be a New Yorker is a state of mind, it’s a set of beliefs. It’s a set of principles that you live by. And New Yorkers do not discriminate. And they’re not anti-LGBTQ. And they’re not divisive. And they don’t spread hate. So I say, good riddance.”

That last point has been unusually vexing for Cuomo, who announced that New York State will take legal action to block trump administration rule allowing foster care and adoption agencies to discriminate against LGBTQ families.

“Trump’s proposal isn’t just discriminatory and repugnant to our values — it’s also heartless and dumb as it would deny countless children a loving family and a safe place to call home. If he moves forward with this rule, we’ll take legal action to stop it,” the governor said in a statement. “Once again the Trump administration is attacking the hard-earned rights and protections of the LGBTQ community, this time proposing a new measure that would give foster care and adoption agencies license to discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender identity.