Crains New York - March 25, 2013 - (Page 6)

THE INSIDER by Chef Charlie Palmer by Andrew J. Hawkins newscom JARRING DEBATE: Tipped employees were an unexpected sticking point in the minimum-wage fight. Budget in eyes of beholders Personal, Customizable and Spectacular Events inspiring menus sophisticated & friendly service Contact us today to book your event gmurphy@charliepalmer.com No Other Accounting Firm Offers More Intellectual Capital Under One Roof. Anchin, Block & Anchin LLP Accountants and Advisors Frank A. Schettino, CPA Managing Partner frank.schettino@anchin.com 1375 Broadway, New York, NY 10018 Follow us @anchincpa 6 | Crain’s New York Business | March 25, 2013 T o Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Senate and Assembly leaders, the state budget deal reached last week is about punctuality and tax cuts. To the business community, it’s about squandered opportunities and tax hikes. And to budget watchdogs, it’s about poor planning. Even though the budget deal extends the income-tax surcharge on New Yorkers earning more than $1 million, Mr. Cuomo is touting a “net tax cut” based on the $300 million in rebate checks the state will send middle-class parents and $350 million for businesses to hire veterans and teenage seasonal workers.The $650 million total eclipses the $500 million in net revenue from the millionaire’s tax extension. Business groups nonetheless assailed the tax’s continuation as the wrong message to send to “the people who contribute most to the state’s economy,” in the words of Partnership for New York CEO Kathryn Wylde. The Business Council of New York State applauded the budget’s timeliness and small growth but griped that it will add to the cost of doing business. Even progressive-taxation advocates like Ron Deutsch of New Yorkers for Fiscal Fairness called the tax tinkering “political” and impractical. “Had the revenue from the extension been earmarked to support many struggling and underfunded services, I could understand the need to do it now,” Mr. Deutsch said. “But instead the money has been earmarked for [$350] election-year rebate checks to families with incomes up to $300,000.” Meanwhile, Republican legislators claimed to have phased out the 18-a utility assessment, even though the budget extends by three years those energy taxes, which were about to expire. And Democrats cheered the increase in the minimum wage to $9 from $7.25, even though the hike will be spread over three years and excludes tipped workers in the service industry. Business groups and labor unions alike took issue with the politicians’ claims. The former wanted the 18-a assessment phased out this year, while the latter had demanded the minimum wage be indexed to inflation and to jump to $9 immediately. Liberal groups were also blind- sided by the exclusion of tipped workers. But the point may become moot if Mr. Cuomo’s Department of Labor directs the state wage board to raise tipped workers’ wages later in the year, as some sources speculate will happen. Still, grumblings from the business community, which for two years lauded Mr. Cuomo as a fiscally disciplined manager, could amplify if the governor continues to tack left in advance of his 2014 re-election bid. “All these business leaders are more concerned about the pockets of their board members than the growth of the businesses they claim to represent,” one budgetwatcher snapped. At press time, budget bills were still being printed and details hammered out. But while advocates and lobbyists will inevitably find things to pick apart in the budget, some Albany observers focused on the big picture: that of an early, relatively drama-free spending deal in a state that was for years a scene of chaos at budget time. “I actually think people are being hypercritical,” said one veteran of Mario Cuomo’s administration. “Compared to the last 30 years,this is truly remarkable. It was on time. It was orderly and collegial. And spending levels are below the rate of inflation.” As for the lawmakers’ claims, the source added, “The fact that there’s something in the budget for everyone is actually the key to it. Everyone has to walk away a winner, or it doesn’t get done.” Ⅲ Crain’s Insider, our award-winning politics newsletter, is now a blog. Read it every day at www.crainsnewyork.com/insider http://www.charliepalmer.com http://www.charliepalmer.com http://www.crainsnewyork.com http://www.anchin.com http://www.anchin.com http://www.crainsnewyork.com/insider

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crains New York - March 25, 2013

In the Boroughs
In the Markets
Real Estate Deals
The Insider
Business People
Opinion
Alair Townsend
Greg David
40 Under 40
Classifieds
For the Record
Small Business
New York, New York
Source Lunch
Out and About
Snaps

Crains New York - March 25, 2013