Claim by Kathy Hochul (D)
New York Governor Kathy Hochul claimed the state’s budget includes “the largest middle-class tax cut in 70 years.”
Explanation
According to PolitiFact, while New York’s 2025 budget does continue a phased-in reduction of personal income tax rates for middle-class earners, it is not the largest in 70 years.
Economists and tax experts cited in the fact check point to previous tax cuts—especially during the administrations of Governors George Pataki and Andrew Cuomo—as being significantly larger. For example, under Cuomo, a 2016 budget law set in motion reductions that are still phasing in through 2027, offering more substantial rate cuts than the current budget continues.
Moreover, historical records from the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance show that middle-class tax rates have dropped more sharply during other periods, including in the 1980s and early 2000s. Hochul’s office provided no data proving this is the largest cut in 70 years.
Conclusion
Fact or Fiction? Fiction. The claim that this is the largest middle-class tax cut in 70 years is not supported by tax data or historical comparisons.
Read More
PolitiFact: No, New Yorkers Are Not Getting the Largest Middle-Class Tax Cut in 70 Years
MBFC Daily Vetted Fact Checks for 06/05/2025
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Last Updated on June 22, 2025 by Media Bias Fact Check