New York Needs to Raise Taxes, Cuomo Says…
ALBANY, N.Y. — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the state will need to raise taxes to bridge its current budget deficit, even if Congress approves more funding as part of a coronavirus relief bill.
The Democratic governor’s comments on Wednesday were his most definitive this year about raising revenue to cover a deficit exacerbated by Covid-19 and economic restrictions the state imposed to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.
Mr. Cuomo didn’t specify which taxes the state would look to increase, and his aides didn’t answer subsequent questions. Layoffs and borrowing will also be part of the discussion, he said.
State lawmakers adopted a $178 billion budget in April that depended upon additional federal aid that hasn’t materialized. The spending plan gave the Cuomo administration unilateral authority to withhold state payments to contractors, schools, municipalities and social-service providers if the U.S. Congress didn’t act.
Manhattan Apartment Rents Lowest in Decade
(Bloomberg) — Apartments in Manhattan haven’t been this cheap to rent in 10 years. The median rental price plummeted 22% in November from a year earlier to $2,743 a month, according to a report Thursday by appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. and brokerage Douglas Elliman Real Estate. That’s the lowest in data going back to October 2010.