New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who has arguably had the worst reaction to the Wuhan virus in the country, now feels the need to up the ante even more.
Any healthcare workers that traveled from out-of-state will now be subject to New Yorkās taxes.
The Daily Caller reported that Cuomo said that the state isnāt āin a position to provide any subsidies right now because we have a $13 billion deficit,ā according to local New York news station PIX 11. Only in the world of liberalism is letting healthcare volunteers (who Cuomo has elsewhere described as heros) keep their money a “subsidy.”
Cuomo continued, ā[s]o thereās a lot of good things Iād like to do, and if we get federal funding, we can do, but it would be irresponsible for me to sit here looking at a $13 billion deficit and say Iām gonna spend more money, when I canāt even pay the essential services.ā
Since New York City was the countryās de facto epicenter of the Wuhan coronavirus, healthcare workers volunteered to fill the dire need due to the anticipated rapid influx of coronavirus patients. Back in March, Cuomo even pleaded with the countryās healthcare workers to come and help New York for this very reason.
And of course, Cuomo blamed the federal government for his stateās budget problems, saying Ā āif we donāt get more money from Washington, we canāt fund schools, right, so at the rate we want to fund them. We are in dire financial need.ā
The Daily Caller further notes:
Samaritanās Purse, the Christian humanitarian aid organization that sent volunteers to New York to set up a temporary hospital, wasnāt aware that their organization would have to pay the state income tax.
āOur financial comptroller called me, and he said, āDo you know that all of you are going to be liable for New York state income tax?ā Ken Isaacs, the Vice President of the organization told PIX 11.
āI said, āWhat?āā
According to theĀ New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, nonresidents who work in the state for more than 14 days must pay state income taxes. New York has one of the highest state income taxes in the country, ranging from 4% to 8.82% according toĀ Business Insider.
āWhat weāre even more concerned about than the money is the bureaucracy and the paperwork, and I think that once thatās unleashed, once you start filing that, you have to do that for like a whole year or something,ā Isaac continued.
As Mark Levin said on his radio show last night, Cuomo just did a great job making sure no one will continue to help New York through this.
Itās really hard to make the case that Cuomo has handled this well – or maybe impossible.