Casey Seiler is reporting at Capitol Confidential the fiscally conservative group Unshackle Upstate has unveiled a five-point “New Economic Revitalization Agenda for Upstate” plan. In addition to calling for the immediate implementation of hydrofracking in the Marcellus shale, its proposals include several upstate-only tax cuts: A reduction of state income taxes by 25 percent for upstate residents making less than $50,000 annually; and,
a 50 percent reduction of state sales tax in targeted upstate communities that have suffered population loss and high unemployment. The tax cuts would have a cumulative cost of almost $940 million in the next fiscal year if all were implemented. That cost, the group says, would be offset by almost $80 million in natural gas revenue. The plan was endorsed Monday morning by the Binghamton Chamber of Commerce. Read the full story at Capitol Confidential, a Times Union blog.