Governor Kathy Hochul wins the gold medal in gaslighting for claiming her proposed $260 billion budget “does not raise taxes.” That claim isn’t misleading, it’s dishonest.
State spending jumps by $6 billion over last year’s $254 billion budget, yet Hochul expects New Yorkers to believe this massive expansion of government somehow comes free. It doesn’t. The cost is simply hidden.
Instead of raising taxes honestly, Hochul taxes families through the back door, then congratulates herself for not touching the front.
Add it up. A typical New York family now gets soaked between roughly $4,000 and more than $10,000 a year in so-called “fees,” “surcharges,” and “tolls” that function exactly like taxes.
Congestion pricing alone can cost commuters $1,500 to $2,200 a year just to drive to work. Bridge and tunnel tolls tack on another $500 to $1,300. Payroll taxes funding the MTA quietly suppress wages by $150 to $600 per worker. Phone and utility bills carry state-mandated charges worth $100 to $300 annually. Sales and excise taxes baked into everyday purchases drain at least $1,000 more.
Buy or refinance a home? Mortgage recording and transfer taxes can easily average $500 to $4,000 a year when spread over time. Get a ticket or go to court? Mandatory surcharges add hundreds more.
Then add Hochul bending the knee to Commie Mamdani and pledging billions more for “free” child care in New York City, while families are already stretched thin. New Yorkers are now among the highest-taxed families in America.
Albany’s defense is always the same: these aren’t “taxes.” They’re tolls. Fees. Assessments. Cute words. Same result.
This isn’t fiscal responsibility, it’s political cowardice. When families are paying up to $10,000 more a year to live here, the tax hike already happened, whether Albany admits it or not.