Calcaterra Takes Tax Fight to LaValle's Office
By Mike Connery on 04/15/2010 @ 08:26 PM
Earlier today, the Calcaterra campaign took the fight right to the doors of Ken LaValle's office, rallying supporters to highlight LaValle's record on taxes. Photo and statement from the Calcaterra campaign below.
Regina Calcaterra rallies supporters.
Calcaterra: LaValle's Pro-Tax Votes Make Every Day April 15 in New York SELDEN, NY - With more than two dozen supporters behind her, and in front of her opponent's district office, Regina Calcaterra, D-New Suffolk, today took aim at state Sen. Ken LaValle's more than 600 votes in Albany to raise or extend taxes and fees, adding $33.4 billion to New Yorkers' tax burden and helping to push the cost of living in Eastern Suffolk County to a near breaking point.
"For those in the First Senatorial District, many will be struggling and scrambling to pay their tax burden by midnight tonight," Calcaterra said. "And it's not just a personal income tax burden, it's a tax burden compounded by high sales tax, high government-mandated fees and high property taxes. And they can thank Sen. LaValle for voting on all of those taxes.
"For 32 of 34 years, he's been in the majority of the state Senate, and he's had the power to make change," Calcaterra said. "And, boy, has he made change for us here."
Calcaterra criticized not just the number of LaValle's pro-tax votes, but what LaValle specifically targeted for higher taxes in that legislation. From 1989 through 2010, LaValle voted in favor of levying or extending taxes on items including child car safety seats, bicycle helmets, beer, drivers' licenses, mortgage filings, hotel rooms and more. For New Yorkers, state government has "even taxed their safety, after Sen. LaValle voted to tax smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors."
She spoke in front of LaValle's district office which, it was revealed earlier this year, was a central cost to the $1 million in annual office expenses the incumbent rang up through the most recent fiscal period.
In addition, just weeks ago LaValle voted against a Senate proposal to provide $291 million in much-needed tax relief to senior citizens - which only compounded their plight of living in one of the most overtaxed states in the country. That's particularly difficult to accept, Calcaterra said, since Suffolk County property taxes have climbed by 550 percent since LaValle entered office.
Calcaterra is proposing sweeping changes to the way state agencies spend taxpayer dollars, including adoption of Generally Accepted Accounting Practices (GAAP) for all state agencies and authorities, expansion of public-private partnerships to raise revenue and continue state programs without having to raise the state tax burden constantly, and cancellation of MTA taxes and fees that were approved beginning in 2005 after LaValle's vote to tax drivers licenses and mortgage filings.
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