Increased taxes on businesses will cause an exodus.

0:00 Speaker 1 What’s going on in New York State? Is the budget done? Is a budget not done? Is it to the satisfaction of the people of the state. What is today is Paul Zuber and he is executive vice president with the New York State Business Council, And Paul, what is going on?

0:22 I heard some reports that they’re going to try to increase the payroll tax to fund the MTA, which in my opinion, is a bottomless pit and so many other things if they keep raising taxes. There’s another report that nine billion or fourteen billion dollars with Iningtom has moved out of New York.

0:43 Speaker 2 You tell us, yeah, you know, John, You’re you’re absolutely right. You know, we’re going through the budget process now, and you know, as of today when we speak, you know, the governor says that there’s a budget in place, but quite frankly, there’s negotiating. But to your point, one of the things that is going to be part of the

1:04 budget is an increase in the payroll tax, which is going to hit businesses with uh with ten million or more in payroll in all of the MTA district. So once again we are taxing businesses to somehow fund an agency in the MTA, which we all know is at best inept. I mean, let’s be honest. I mean like,

1:31 if anybody else ran a business the way the MTA is running its agency, they would be out of business in five seconds. I mean, there’s constant I don’t.

1:39 Speaker 1 I don’t think anybody has anybody run did a real uh you know, a real audit on them. I mean I heard a disappointing from somebody that the fact is that the five the fifth biggest debtor in the country.

1:59 Speaker 2 Yeah, and you know the Controller has done some audits on them, and I just think that it is so immersed into this political like football that exists in Albany, nobody is really taking the hard position that needs to which is we need to kind of really go in and cut the waste in the MTA, because you know,

2:23 think about this, we’re raising taxes to fund a deficit in the MTA for what they call the five year capital plan. So this means that for the last five years, the MTA knew that they were going to come back to Aubaney for a new five year plan, and they came back with a thirty four billion dollar hole in

2:44 their budget. I think about that, you know, you got to come back to Aubane for more money, and you come back with a thirty four billion dollar hole. Now, I understand COVID occurred. I understand there’s all these different things that occur. But you know, you have to balance your book to what the consumer is doing, what the

3:03 consumer is not doing. We know fair evating is going on. We know that, you know, contracts are out of control when they come to construction contracts down down in the city. And so now now you have that right, you have this thing where we’re raising taxes, and then you have this report from the Citizens Budget Commission, which is probably

3:22 about one of us straight down the road, you know groups as there is in New York State, who’s telling us that in the last five years, we’ve seen thirty thousand New Yorkers flee New York for either Palm Beach or Miami. In Miami Dade County. It’s cost us nine point two billion dollars in income. And it’s it’s income

3:46 that is income earners who are like the major tax providers to New York State. People are making over one hundred and ninety thousand dollars of income. People are making over two hundred and sixty thousand dollars income. So we’re constantly losing our base. And the reason that, you know, according to the study of people are living, it’s quality

4:06 of life and they want to feel that they’re safe. And they’re not feeling the quality of life or they’re feeling that they’re safe in New York City. And I think it goes to a fundamental problem that’s going on in New York State. Our elected leaders are more concerned with process over outcome. And what I mean by that

4:25 is we’re so busy putting different conditions and restrictions and everything on everything we do. So we talk about affordable housing, So what do we do with affordable housing, Well, there’s zoning restrictions. Now we’re going to make conditions on how you build it. You don’t have to buy a unionized labor.

4:40 You’re gonna have to do this. You’re going to have to do that. Oh, by the way, we’re going to pass legislation that allows for you know, absolute liability if someone gets hurt on the job site. And we do all these things, and we expand the costs of these things, and it’s like a bridge with too much weight on it,

4:57 it falls under its own weight. So all the things that we’re trying to to do for the people of the state, like affordable housing, clean air, and clean energy, we’re putting so many conditions on it that we’re killing it by putting these conditions on it and making New York just a much harder place to live. And that’s

5:16 what we’re hearing from businesses.

5:17 Speaker 1 I said, I live here. I live here, and they want to put a payroll tax. They’re making it almost impossible, especially with these all electric buildings they want to have, and a we don’t have the enough of electricity and be there on making contingencies of what happens if the power goes out.

5:38 Speaker 2 Absolutely and again this is process over outcome, right. So instead of saying to yourself, well, how can we, like you know, create more renewables and create it in an economically reasonable fashion, they decide that they’re going to put all these conditions on it. They’re going to make like all these marks that we have to make, and we

5:56 can’t meet them, and then only person who suffers, the taxpayer who’s hit would increase like energy costs and you know one of the things that people constantly forget in Albany.

6:08 Speaker 1 And then the problem is I’m a retailer. I have retail source. You know, your own grossides, own guy casino. And when, of course keep rising to us, then you got people that are sending stuff from different states that are cheaper because the product they’re sending in by mail or by FedEx or whatever. So New York is cheaper

6:35 because they’re they’re doing business in cheaper states, and the retailers on the streets of New York cannot compete with them.

6:44 Speaker 2 And you know, John, and that’s another important point that people forget is the economy has changed in the world, right, So it’s not the world is a competitive place now. We’re competing with every other state. It’s not like we’re New York. You know, if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere you have to be in

7:02 New York, we’re competing against this, We’re competing against Texas, and they can we can do business in state.

7:08 Speaker 1 The world has changed, and our legislators in Albany or New York City, in a city council do not realize it that they’re going to put all the other people out of business.

7:22 Speaker 2 They’re gonna put all the other people out of business. And it’s very easy for companies that are in New York that that can it’s very easy for them to transfer what they have to transfer and go to in North Carolina. We’re seeing it now. There’s a there’s a there’s a restriction or a regulation by DC regarding how

7:39 you can build near or on wetlands. And what we’re hearing from developers is we’re going to just go to North Carolina. Forget about Paul Zuber.

7:46 Speaker 1 We’re out of time, but I wanted to make sure you’re on this Sunday, and thank you very much for coming on and let’s continue the conversation because it has to be continued.

7:57 Speaker 2 That absolutely does.

7:58 Speaker 1 Thank you, John, thank you so much well,