New York Leaders Provide Solutions after Empire State Finishes Last for Economic Outlook
At a recent press conference, Putnam County Executive Kevin Byrne and Assemblyman Matt Slater called for changes including a Taxpayer Bill of Rights and the Taxpayer Transparency Act to improve New York’s Economic Outlook.
Albany, NY – Last week, Putnam County Executive Kevin Byrne joined members of the State Assembly, including Assemblyman Matt Slater, to shine a light on New York State’s atrocious tax climate and shortcomings. The state has once again ranked worst in the nation in economic outlook according to the 2023 issue of “Rich States Poor States.” Legislators shared some of their solutions for the state to adopt such as capping state spending and prohibiting backdoor borrowing, while Byrne shared his proposed local government solutions that are currently before the Putnam County Legislature. The proposals include a Taxpayer Bill of Rights and the Taxpayer Transparency Act.
“There are things we can do right now, here at the local level to improve our state’s economic outlook and change the culture of over taxation, obscurity, and spending in New York State,” said County Executive Byrne. “We’ve sent language to the Putnam County Legislature asking them to pass our proposal to self-mandate greater access to participation in public legislative meetings, create a budget transparency website, and change the county charter so that any property tax increase would require a 2/3 majority vote as opposed to a simple majority.”
“New York state has an opportunity to change our tax climate and make it a more affordable place to live. We must implement common sense solutions, such as the 2% spending cap, to stop the tax and spending madness that our state is notorious for” said Assemblyman Matt Slater. “Coupled with strong leaders on the county level, like Putnam County Executive Kevin Byrne, we can make sure government on all levels finally respects property taxpayers.”