Assemblyman David DiPietro (R,C-East Aurora) is citing the Tax Foundation’s Tax Freedom Day study as further proof the state must reverse its anti-business climate. New Yorkers waited longer than residents of 47 other states to begin working for themselves. Tax Freedom Day takes place today in New York State, but nationally, Tax Freedom Day was April 24.

“It feels as though every day another institution or think tank is stating the obvious, we are taxed to death here,” DiPietro said. “We’ve seen our neighbors flee to neighboring states, and the tax-friendly atmosphere of the south. We’ve seen businesses shut their doors despite repeated claims that ‘New York is Open for Business.’ We’re simply taxed too much. This isn’t rhetoric; this is consistently backed up time and time again by major organizations. We must reverse course or we’re going to continue to see our neighbors abandon the communities they’ve lived in for generations in search of greener pastures.”

DiPietro is a small business owner and the Ranking Minority Member on the Assembly Committee on Small Business.