New York Republican gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino told CNBC Thursday that he would slash spending and taxes across the state, especially for businesses.
“This will allow our businesses to invest their money to show more cash on the bottom line, so that they can go to the bank and borrow more money,” said Paladino, who lags behind his opponent New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat. Paladino used to be CEO of the Ellicott Development Company.
Among his proposals are to sunset by 2011 the 10 percent rise in personal income tax, instituted last year, to help individuals who run small businesses, abolish the minimum for New York State Corporation Franchise tax immediately for all businesses and get rid of the tax for manufacturers and creative industries over the next two years.
He also said he was going to slash $20 billion from New York's annual $52 billion Medicaid budget. Paladino calculated that that cut would reduce a New Yorker's county tax bill by about a third.
Paladino, who drew fire for his controversial statements about gays last week, apologized again for his statement that students shouldn't be "brainwashed" into thinking that the gay lifestyle was just another choice.
Paladino said his “words [about gays] could have been better chosen. I have been a higher supporter of the gay community.”