"SALT encourages high-income New Yorkers to move to other states. And what you have to remember is even if a small number of high-income taxpayers leave, it has a dramatic effect on this tax space. We have one of the most progressive tax codes in the United States, which is a good thing. Which means the richer you are, the more you pay. However, that presents a very fragile economy because then you are relying on a very small number of people for the vast amount of your tax dollars. One percent of the taxpayers pay nearly half of all the taxes. One percent pay nearly half of all those taxes. Those one percent are the richest people in the state, they're the richest people in the country, and they are the most mobile people in the country. And you see the chart on the bottom. Top one percent - about 46 percent. Top five percent - 63 percent of all the revenue. Top 10 percent - 74 percent of all the revenue. Tax the rich, tax the rich, tax the rich. We did. Now, God forbid the rich leave. More than 95 percent of the tax increase from SALT falls on the top 20 percent of taxpayers."
Andrew Cuomo

January 1, 1970