New York Governor Andrew Cuomo says that New York is facing a $2.3 billion shortfall over the course of the next eight years. He blames President Donald Trump’s policies on encouraging the state’s wealthiest residents to move out. He says that the 2017 rollback of state and local tax collections meant that New York had not been able to collect as much tax during the last two months. As with many states, New York’s fiscal budget began on July 1, 2018.

Second Highest Taxes in Nation

Combined state and local taxes paid by wealthy individuals living in New York are the second highest in the nation. By comparison, 14 states say that they will meet their revenue collection goals for 2019. Nineteen states are ahead of their projections. Many of these states expect to be able to pump more money into educating students, taking care of the old and other state programs, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Cuomo Says No Hard Facts

Cuomo admits that he has no hard facts to support his claims that the government’s budgetary downfall was because of the new federal tax laws. He says that many wealthy New Yorkers have told him that they have changed their legal address.

Will Cuomo Change his Budget?

Governor Cuomo has until February 15, 2019, to make changes to his proposed budget. He says he may need to make some after announcing New York is facing a $2.3 billion shortfall. He says that he is not ready to announce where those changes will be made. He did say that the largest spending by the government came in infrastructure, education and health care.

High Cost of Living

A study conducted by Lending Tree says that over 50 percent of the states that people are moving out of are in the Northeast. Since 2018, more than 1 million people have moved out of New York City. The city and region are near the top of the list with the highest cost of living. Many residents fear that they will not have the money to retire or to send their kids to college.

Companies Moving South

The impact on the state is not totally caused by residents moving away, but businesses are opting for other options. Walmart, Google, Facebook, Indeed and Oracle are just a few of the companies who are moving employees out of New York for warmer areas of the country.