[caption id="" align="alignright" width="200" caption="Wine in supermarkets is one of several revenue proposals not yet on the table as discussions begin on a state budget derived from Governor Cuomo's suggested Executive Budget, released on February 1."][/caption]The Times Union has a succinct look at Gov. Andrew Cuomo's executive budget, unveiled to the state on February 1, that questions the many gaps on the proposal's revenue side, which reporter Jimmy Vielkind suggests may be strategic on the governor's part. Among the items not mentioned, at present, are a previously proposed move to make wine sales possible in supermarkets and grocery stores, which drew opposition from the liquor store industry but support from legislators who saw a new income stream from licensing fees and sales taxes from expected increases in wine sales should the measure be instituted. "Veterans of the budget process say the absence of such proposals makes them bargaining chips as Cuomo negotiates his spending plan with legislators," Vielkind writes.


Continued...


"There's a strategic element to this: if you don't put up things like wine-in-grocery-stores, you give them the opportunity to restore some of the cuts," noted conservative analyst E.J. McMahon of the Empire Center is quoted as saying. "It's not like Cuomo didn't read the paper last year or that the Budget Division isn't aware of this as an option." Also raised in the story were hints that Assembly Democrats will be seeking to renew an income tax surcharge for individuals making more than $200,000 a year, something expected to be a real revenue boost given the surging gains on Wall Street this year, but something Cuomo has positioned himself against... making it another probable bargaining chip. Let the games begin...