Gov. Andrew Cuomo and legislative leaders have agreed on a new plan for businesses to locate tax-free on state and private college campuses and to sharply expand casino gambling opportunities in upstate.
Lawmakers early this morning introduced a casino expansion bill that will ask New York residents to approve a sharp increase in commercial gambling opportunities in several upstate regions, though not in Western New York or two other areas where Indian tribes now run casino operations.
A new bill also has been crafted to create START-UP NY, which will offer tax-free advantages to businesses that locate on public or private college campuses.
There was, as of 9 a.m., no companion bill introduced in the Assembly matching the Senate bill. But a Cuomo spokesman said the Senate bill, introduced by Sen. Thomas Libous, a Binghamton Republican, represents the terms agreed to overnight by the governor and legislative leaders.
The new bill offers an array of tax benefits that Cuomo says will present a major economic development shot for upstate but his plan to suspend state personal income taxes for all new workers at companies that locate on the campuses appears to have been watered down in the new bill. For instance, it limits to 10,000 the number of workers statewide eligible for personal income tax breaks that will be determined by the state tax commissioner.
The measure includes protections to ensure companies don’t move existing jobs from one town or region of the state onto a college campus and features “clawback" language to penalize companies that don’t produce promised jobs.
Critics say it offers inappropriate Caymans Island-like benefits to companies – including no state taxes of any kind for 10 years – while ignoring the high taxes paid by firms already struggling to survive in upstate. The deal also includes union-backed prevailing wage guarantees, which some business lobbyists have privately said could undermine the measure’s intent of lowering the cost of doing business upstate.
The casino legislation calls for four upstate casinos going into the Southern Tier area near Binghamton, the greater Albany area and the lower- to mid-Hudson Valley including the Catskills. Casinos would be banned, for now, in New York City, though Long Island could get two parlors offering slot-like devices similar to the gambling at the Hamburg track south of Buffalo.
The governor also wants upstate regions, although not areas with current Indian casinos, to get such halls with video lottery devices if voters this fall reject the broader authorization for new commercial casinos with slots and table games such as poker.
The legislation creates a panel, reporting to the new state Gaming Commission, that will select casino developers, sites and determine acceptable franchise fee payments to the state. The state will also get a $500 payment per slot machine or table game to help fund regulatory activities.
The new casinos, which have already attracted the interest of a who’s who of the gambling industry, can be open 24 hours, and while won’t be allowed to offer sports wagering can participate in sports pools. All existing racetrack-based casinos, such as at Hamburg and Batavia, will see their operational licenses expire next year, forcing them to go through a first-ever renewal process with the state.
The new casinos will pay a state tax rate from 37 percent to 45 percent, depending on which upstate region they locate.
email: tpreciousbuffnews.com
Lawmakers early this morning introduced a casino expansion bill that will ask New York residents to approve a sharp increase in commercial gambling opportunities in several upstate regions, though not in Western New York or two other areas where Indian tribes now run casino operations.
A new bill also has been crafted to create START-UP NY, which will offer tax-free advantages to businesses that locate on public or private college campuses.
There was, as of 9 a.m., no companion bill introduced in the Assembly matching the Senate bill. But a Cuomo spokesman said the Senate bill, introduced by Sen. Thomas Libous, a Binghamton Republican, represents the terms agreed to overnight by the governor and legislative leaders.
The new bill offers an array of tax benefits that Cuomo says will present a major economic development shot for upstate but his plan to suspend state personal income taxes for all new workers at companies that locate on the campuses appears to have been watered down in the new bill. For instance, it limits to 10,000 the number of workers statewide eligible for personal income tax breaks that will be determined by the state tax commissioner.
The measure includes protections to ensure companies don’t move existing jobs from one town or region of the state onto a college campus and features “clawback" language to penalize companies that don’t produce promised jobs.
Critics say it offers inappropriate Caymans Island-like benefits to companies – including no state taxes of any kind for 10 years – while ignoring the high taxes paid by firms already struggling to survive in upstate. The deal also includes union-backed prevailing wage guarantees, which some business lobbyists have privately said could undermine the measure’s intent of lowering the cost of doing business upstate.
The casino legislation calls for four upstate casinos going into the Southern Tier area near Binghamton, the greater Albany area and the lower- to mid-Hudson Valley including the Catskills. Casinos would be banned, for now, in New York City, though Long Island could get two parlors offering slot-like devices similar to the gambling at the Hamburg track south of Buffalo.
The governor also wants upstate regions, although not areas with current Indian casinos, to get such halls with video lottery devices if voters this fall reject the broader authorization for new commercial casinos with slots and table games such as poker.
The legislation creates a panel, reporting to the new state Gaming Commission, that will select casino developers, sites and determine acceptable franchise fee payments to the state. The state will also get a $500 payment per slot machine or table game to help fund regulatory activities.
The new casinos, which have already attracted the interest of a who’s who of the gambling industry, can be open 24 hours, and while won’t be allowed to offer sports wagering can participate in sports pools. All existing racetrack-based casinos, such as at Hamburg and Batavia, will see their operational licenses expire next year, forcing them to go through a first-ever renewal process with the state.
The new casinos will pay a state tax rate from 37 percent to 45 percent, depending on which upstate region they locate.
email: tpreciousbuffnews.com