Companies that get started at one of New York’s public universities wouldn’t have to pay any taxes for a decade if a plan proposed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo gets enacted.
Cuomo has proposed using the state’s network of public colleges as a launching pad for new businesses through tax incentives.
Businesses that startup on SUNY campus wouldn't have to pay any property, sales, or business taxes for decade.
The "tax-free zones," as the governor is calling them, would be for businesses that are related to academic research or were started by students or faculty. They would also be available to companies that relocate to New York state, but Cuomo says the companies will have to create jobs.
He says forgoing tax collection will be beneficial in the long run.
"I believe it’s actually going to wind up making us money because we lose 75 percent of the high-tech startups in the first year," Cuomo told reporters after stopping in Syracuse Wednesday afternoon to pitch the plan.
Cuomo this year also proposed creating innovation hot-spots, which would also give tax breaks to brand new companies.
There are 64 SUNY campuses, with the vast majority located upstate. Along with private colleges, they’re a major economic driver and potential source for young talent for their communities.