Northeast Budget and Tax Committee

[H.E. VOLODYMYR ZELENKSYY]

Which is our expenditures, the $225 billion or the $229 billion?

[bore]

It seems that recovering from Sandy will cost 50 billion dollars, now obviously some of that will come from the private sector, and some more from the federal government, but still pending correction from the gm that will be a hefty amount. It might be a good idea to allocate a percentage of the surplus every year into a natural disasters fund, for events like Irene and Sandy, which would not be touched at any other time.

Another suggestion I have is a change from a tax by curb weight to one on fuel efficency, that change can be adjusted to be revenue neutral, but most importantly it would help us fight global warming.

[Goldwater]

I apologize for being late, but do really need the income tax increase to make up for the gas tax decrease? What would the budget look like if we keep income taxes at the current rate?

[Cincinnatus]

Right..according to the bill establishing this Committee, I'm actually a designated part of it.  I hope I catch up from election week soon..

I'll look this over with a fine toothed comb tomorrow.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

It seems that recovering from Sandy will cost 50 billion dollars, now obviously some of that will come from the private sector, and some more from the federal government, but still pending correction from the gm that will be a hefty amount. It might be a good idea to allocate a percentage of the surplus every year into a natural disasters fund, for events like Irene and Sandy, which would not be touched at any other time.

Another suggestion I have is a change from a tax by curb weight to one on fuel efficency, that change can be adjusted to be revenue neutral, but most importantly it would help us fight global warming.

Would you consider 25% from the remaining surplus to be a good starting point?  We are going to have to spend on disaster relief, but it's nice to always have some money aside for the future.

I apologize for being late, but do really need the income tax increase to make up for the gas tax decrease? What would the budget look like if we keep income taxes at the current rate?

I'm not too sure, but I think it might be necessary for the Capital and disaster relief.

[bore]

It seems that recovering from Sandy will cost 50 billion dollars, now obviously some of that will come from the private sector, and some more from the federal government, but still pending correction from the gm that will be a hefty amount. It might be a good idea to allocate a percentage of the surplus every year into a natural disasters fund, for events like Irene and Sandy, which would not be touched at any other time.

Another suggestion I have is a change from a tax by curb weight to one on fuel efficency, that change can be adjusted to be revenue neutral, but most importantly it would help us fight global warming.

Would you consider 25% from the remaining surplus to be a good starting point?  We are going to have to spend on disaster relief, but it's nice to always have some money aside for the future.

25% would be a good. Also I take it the surplus is 7.5 billion instead of 11.5 billion, so,, were the new capital amendment to pass, how far would 3.75 billion go?

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

It seems that recovering from Sandy will cost 50 billion dollars, now obviously some of that will come from the private sector, and some more from the federal government, but still pending correction from the gm that will be a hefty amount. It might be a good idea to allocate a percentage of the surplus every year into a natural disasters fund, for events like Irene and Sandy, which would not be touched at any other time.

Another suggestion I have is a change from a tax by curb weight to one on fuel efficency, that change can be adjusted to be revenue neutral, but most importantly it would help us fight global warming.

Would you consider 25% from the remaining surplus to be a good starting point?  We are going to have to spend on disaster relief, but it's nice to always have some money aside for the future.

25% would be a good. Also I take it the surplus is 7.5 billion instead of 11.5 billion, so,, were the new capital amendment to pass, how far would 3.75 billion go?

Why do you say the surplus is $7.5 billion?

If Sandy is expected to cost $50 billion to recover from 3.75 billion is a very modest start.  Hopefully, the Federal government can have a role in helping the Region recover.

[bore]

It seems that recovering from Sandy will cost 50 billion dollars, now obviously some of that will come from the private sector, and some more from the federal government, but still pending correction from the gm that will be a hefty amount. It might be a good idea to allocate a percentage of the surplus every year into a natural disasters fund, for events like Irene and Sandy, which would not be touched at any other time.

Another suggestion I have is a change from a tax by curb weight to one on fuel efficency, that change can be adjusted to be revenue neutral, but most importantly it would help us fight global warming.

Would you consider 25% from the remaining surplus to be a good starting point?  We are going to have to spend on disaster relief, but it's nice to always have some money aside for the future.

25% would be a good. Also I take it the surplus is 7.5 billion instead of 11.5 billion, so,, were the new capital amendment to pass, how far would 3.75 billion go?

Why do you say the surplus is $7.5 billion?

If Sandy is expected to cost $50 billion to recover from 3.75 billion is a very modest start.  Hopefully, the Federal government can have a role in helping the Region recover.

We've increased expenditure by 4 billion and our tax changes should be revenue neutral or at least equal, since the last surplus was 11.5 billion I just took 4 from it. It might make sense to look over at other natural disasters to see what the normal proportion the region has to pay is. I was thinking of a more long term, rainy day natural disaster fund.

[sentinel]

So is there no disaster fund for the Region currently? From what I read it seems we're going to take it out of the surplus for now (which is fine with me for now)

[Barnes]

So is there no disaster fund for the Region currently? From what I read it seems we're going to take it out of the surplus for now (which is fine with me for now)

There is no set disaster fund, correct. And I agree, the surplus seems healthy enough to use for these types of things, but it might be useful for us to start including a separate emergency disaster fund in the budget so funds can be tapped automatically in the event of a crisis such as this.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Just remember that what ever we do, we have to be careful with how much of the surplus we use so that there's some put aside for the capital and some left over.  That's why I asked the Federal government for assistance in fixing the damages, because there wouldn't be nearly enough money in the surplus to use even if we scrap the new capital proposal entirely (obviously).  Budget surpluses are normally put aside for emergencies, anyway, but ours needs to grow.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

For now, it might be ideal to just use some of the money from our expenditures (transportation, aid and incentives, etc.) to fund the recovery.  That's where the money is needed most.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Great news!

This isn't important yet, but with the passage of the Quick-Action Closing Fund Act, expenditures for the Economic development fund are estimated to increase to $76 billion, going by the Arkansas numbers.  If we distribute the extra funds to the surplus fund, our surplus will grow from $18.5 billion to $56.5 billion, and that's before we add the money saved by the Smarter Spending Act of 2012.  Therefore, unless my math is wrong, our surplus will more than triple by March.

This is a remarkable accomplishment that could not have been achieved without the help of the Assembly, and I hope to be in this office again when the budget for FY13 March-July is brought to this body.

[H.E. VOLODYMYR ZELENKSYY]

Further cementing the Northeast's status as THE BEST REGION.