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New York Republicans slammed Gov. Kathy Hochul for trying to bribe residents of the Empire State by offering an “Inflation Refund.”

New York City Council Minority Leader Joe Borelli called out the “silly” plan by the Democrat governor and others joined in to pan the proposal that aims to make about $3 billion in direct payments to approximately 8.6 million New York taxpayers next year.

The $3 billion would be from “excess” sales tax revenue reportedly “driven by inflation” and Hochul plans to hand that back to nearly half of the state’s population.

“This new refund would send a payment of $300 to single taxpayers who make up to $150,000 per year, and a payment of $500 for joint tax filers making up to $300,000 per year,” the governor’s office said in a press release.

(Video Credit: PIX 11 News)

“Because of inflation, New York has generated unprecedented revenues through the sales tax — now, we’re returning that cash back to middle-class families,” Hochul said in a statement.

“My agenda for the coming year will be laser-focused on putting money back in your pockets, and that starts with proposing Inflation Refund checks of up to $500 to help millions of hard-working New Yorkers,” she added. “It’s simple: the cost of living is still too damn high, and New Yorkers deserve a break.”

While average New Yorkers are glad to see any cash return to their pockets, critics are pointing out the problems with Hochul’s proposal.

“With her approval rating deep underwater, Kathy Hochul is resorting to bribing New Yorkers to like her,” NYSGOP Executive Director David Laska told Fox News Digital. “Handing out one-time checks won’t stop the crushing inflation Democrats’ policies have fueled – it will only add to it. New York needs real, permanent solutions: relief from our highest-in-the-nation tax burden and a rollback of job-killing regulations.”

“Newsflash for Kathy Hochul,” said Rep. Michael Lawler (R-NY)., “Taking thousands of dollars out of New Yorkers’ left pocket and then putting $500 in their right pocket isn’t a tax cut, it’s an insult.”

Borelli, R-Staten Island, said Hochul’s plan is “not that backslapping win the governor thinks it is.”

He added that the move “looks increasingly silly” since the governor pushed in favor of controversial congestion pricing and her embrace of “costly energy cues from the Greta Thunberg School of Energy Policy.”

“The governor’s mindset is promising, however, words are words,” said State Sen. Rob Ortt, R-Niagara Falls who said New Yorkers are looking for “real affordability… not just one-shot gimmicks.”

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) blasted Hochul and her crew for another backward scheme,  demanding they “stop treating New Yorkers like bottomless ATM machines.”

“If she’d allow her constituents to keep more of their hard-earned money from the start, there would be no need for these ‘inflation refund’ checks to begin with,” Malliotakis said.

The governor’s office said that payments would begin in the fall of 2025 if the plan is passed by the State Legislature.

Social media users echoed the critics in panning Hochul’s tone-deaf effort to help struggling New Yorkers.

Frieda Powers
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