Cuomo Seeks $15 Billion for N.Y. From $350 Billion Aid Proposal

(Bloomberg) -- New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is seeking $15 billion from President-elect Joe Biden’s $350 billion stimulus proposal to balance the next state budget.

Cuomo, 63, said he also put forth a spending plan to address what he called a “worst-case scenario,” in which New York only receives about $6 billion from the federal government. That amount would force New York to raise revenue, cut expenses and result in “significant borrowing,” he said.

“New Yorkers deserve and demand fairness,” Cuomo said on Tuesday during a presentation of the annual budget. The governor said the state would sue the federal government if New York doesn’t get its “fair share” from Washington.

If New York gets the $15 billion of federal aid that Cuomo wants, the proposed budget calls for funding $600 million of labor agreements, restoring $900 million of tax reductions, funding a scheduled, $400 million tax cut on the middle class, and providing $1.1 billion in additional state support for education, according to Cuomo. His budget also includes $2.8 billion of childcare support for families and $7.5 billion for higher education.

“I believe Washington will be fair,” Cuomo said of the Biden administration. “I believe the stars are lined up for change.”

Cuomo is also calling on the incoming administration to repeal a $10,000 limit on state and local tax deductions, known as SALT, which was passed in 2017 and has inordinately impacted high-cost states like New York and New Jersey. In New York, 52 of 62 counties saw taxes increase under the new law, according to Cuomo. A repeal would return $12.3 billion a year to New Yorkers, he said.

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