Molinaro wants to end millionaires tax

ALBANY — GOP gubernatorial candidate Marc Molinaro wants to do away with the state's millionaires tax.

Molinaro's tax plan, released Friday, would allow the surcharge on incomes of more than $1 million annually to expire next year.

“Allowing this tax to sunset is critical to maintaining New York's competitive position and long-term revenue base,” Molinaro wrote in his “Empire State Freedom Plan."

Under Molinaro's plan, the current 8.82% personal income tax rate paid by individuals making more than $1 million would drop back to 6.85%.

The millionaires tax has raised between $3.5 billion and $4.5 billion in revenue annually for the state.

Many Democrats want to not only extend it, but expand it to cover more people and, perhaps, even hit the wealthiest New Yorkers with a higher rate. Gov. Cuomo earlier this week said he hasn't decided whether the tax needs to be extended, saying it is a conversation for next year.

Molinaro said extending the tax would be a doublewhammy for the wealthy since they will be hurt by the federal tax law that severely restricts the deductibility of state and local taxes. He noted that the rich are more mobile and can leave the state.

His tax plan also includes a proposal to cut local property taxes by nearly 30%. That idea would be paid for in part by shifting the local cost of Medicaid on to the state.

“New York is now dangerously reliant on a handful of taxpayers,” Molinaro argues in his report