Cuomo Proposes Tax-Free Status for Businesses around SUNY Campuses

  |  May 27, 2013
suny new paltz main quad

SUNY New Paltz Main Quad, via Wiki: The area around the New Paltz campus could become tax-free for new business ventures

In case you haven’t heard, the Governor is working on a plan to designate new businesses, start-ups, and even some existing businesses looking to expand tax-free for a decade within a certain distance of SUNY schools. The employees of these businesses would also be exempt from paying income taxes. Shades of the failed Empire Zone plan? That’s what some people are saying. Others are concerned about how existing infrastructures will handle an influx of new residents, not to mention what kind of an additional burden this could create on current tax payers. Frankly, we’re on the fence about this plan; we understand that Cuomo is trying to encourage job creation, but if we lived or owned a business in a SUNY town, we might not be quite so excited about the prospect. The attorney in this article asks some good questions and raises some valid concerns about Cuomo’s plan.

What’s your take on Cuomo’s plan? Good economic development planning, or misguided attempt at becoming business-friendly without addressing upstate’s underlying economic issues? As always, we love hearing what you think in the comments.

About Kandy Harris

Kandy is a writer and musician/music teacher living in Saugerties, NY.

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