Nathaniel Brooks for The New York Times Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo at the State Capitol last week.Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Tuesday named a former state comptroller, H. Carl McCall, and an investment banker, Peter J. Solomon, to lead a new panel charged with proposing reforms to the state's tax code.
Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, said last December that he had created the commission, acting amid concerns that he was moving too hastily in overhauling the state's income tax â€" an action that he announced, and then persuaded the Legislature to approve, in a span of several days that month. But it was not until Tuesday that Mr. Cuomo appointed members to the commission; Mr. McCall and Mr. Solomon were among 10 people Mr. Cuomo named to the panel; additional members are to be appointed by legislative leaders.
“This commission will now undertake a broader review of the state's complex tax code to find ways to make it simpler, and more fair, and help reduce the tax burden faced by New Yorkers and businesses,†Mr. Cuomo said in a statement. The commission will be charged with reviewing the state's corporate, sales and personal income taxes. The recommendations are supposed to be revenue-neutral; a spokesman said no deadline had been set for the commission to report back to the governor.
In 2002, Mr. Cuomo and Mr. McCall were riv als; Mr. Cuomo dropped out of the Democratic primary for governor facing defeat by Mr. McCall. But they have since made amends; Mr. McCall was a co-chairman of Mr. Cuomo's transition team, and last year the governor appointed him chairman of the board of trustees for the State University of New York. Mr. McCall was also a co-chairman of the Committee to Save New York, a lobbying group that has supported Mr. Cuomo's agenda.
Mr. Solomon is the founder and chairman of the investment bank Peter J. Solomon Company. He was a deputy mayor under former Mayor Edward I. Koch and is a member of another panel that Mr. Cuomo assembled, the Spending and Government Efficiency Commission, which is tasked with strea mlining the state's bureaucracy. Mr. Solomon has also been a donor to Mr. Cuomo, contributing $35,000 to his campaign since 2010.
