Cuomo, Republicans: No 'millionaire tax'

ALBANY -- Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and the legislature's top Republican all but declared dead the idea of extending the state's "millionaire's tax" Wednesday -- though their negotiating partner is still trying to change their minds.

Cuomo, a first-term Democrat, brusquely answered "no" when asked at a news conference whether he could support extending the surcharge on high earning New Yorkers under any circumstances -- even if the threshold for the tax is raised dramatically.

It was the one glaring note of discord in an otherwise harmonious gathering by Cuomo, Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre) and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) to tout how much progress lawmakers are making toward working out a state budget by the April 1 deadline.

The surcharge, which actually applies to individuals earning more than $200,000 annually and families earning $300,000 is slated to expire Dec. 31. The Democrat-led Assembly has adopted its version of a state budget, which includes renewing the surcharge -- but raises the threshold to $1 million in annual earnings.

But even that wouldn't sway Cuomo or Skelos. The topic didn't come up during an impromptu 40-minute negotiating session. And though unprompted, Skelos even punctuated his answer to a separate budget question by stating: "And by the way, our [Republican] conference, and myself, continue to oppose continuation of the surcharge."

Still, Silver, standing just inches away from his skeptical partners, vowed to plug away.

"I don't draw lines in the sand," Silver said. "But I think [renewing the tax] makes sense and I think [I] still have time to persuade [my] colleagues."

The legislature Wednesday launched meetings of conference committees tasked with working out differences between the Assembly and Senate budgets. The houses' spending plans are just a few hundred million dollars different from a $132.9-billion Cuomo plan that includes more than $3 billion in cuts.