Port Washington, NY - October 17, 2016 - Matt Varvaro, candidate for New York State Assembly in the 16th District, today released his plan to grow the economy, create jobs, and lower the cost of living and doing business on Long Island.
“The last decade has seen prolonged economic stagnation here on Long Island,” Varvaro said. “Empty storefronts have become an all-too-common sight.”
Varvaro continued, “Unfortunately, we live in one of the highest-taxed areas of America’s highest-taxed state. New York’s burdensome tax and regulatory codes put an enormous strain on those who want to start a family or small business on Long Island. As a result, many are leaving New York for states with better and more affordable economic climates.”
When Matt gets to Albany, he will promote an economic agenda that includes:
Comprehensive tax reform with lower rates. The New York State tax code is ridden with loopholes, while imposing oppressively high rates on families and small businesses. That has it exactly backwards. First, we should lower tax rates to ease the tax burden on the average Long Island family and make New York more competitive. Second, we should get rid of the loopholes and handouts in the tax code that mainly benefit special interests. When we do that, our economy will take off, jobs will come back to New York, and Long Island families will see major tax relief.
Making the property tax cap permanent. The tax cap has been an effective tool for stopping major tax increases and keeping government spending in check. While local governments should operate with some flexibility, they should continue to serve taxpayers in a fiscally responsible manner by living within their means under reasonable tax cap budgets.
Reducing burdensome and unnecessary regulations. In addition to being the highest-taxed state in the country, New York is also one of the most regulated. Excessive regulations put similar burdens on families and small businesses by raising the cost of living and working in New York State. While we clearly need some common-sense regulations to protect public safety, we should get rid of burdensome regulations that have no purpose other than to be a nuisance, and to cost people time and money. Barbers, for example, should not have to spend more than 800 days in technical training to get a license. By reforming these types of regulations, we would lower the cost of doing business on Long Island and make it easier for people to get high-quality, good-paying jobs.
