Budget review: Four prisons slated for closure designated Start-Up NY tax-free zones

Robert Harding

The state will close four prisons, including Butler Correctional Facility in Wayne County, but has a plan for using the properties after they cease operations in July.

The public protection bill, which was posted late Friday after Gov. Andrew Cuomo and state legislative leaders reached an agreement on the 2014-15 state budget, includes a provision that will allow the four correctional facilities to be designated tax-free zones under the Start-Up NY program, pending a majority vote of the Start-Up NY approval board.

The Start-Up NY program, which was signed into law by Cuomo in 2013, establishes tax-free zones for new businesses on SUNY and private college campuses. New businesses that open within a tax-free zone won't have to pay business, property or sales taxes for the next 10 years, and employees won't be required to pay state income taxes for five years.

http://auburnpub.com/blogs/eye_on_ny/budget-review-four-prisons-slated-for-closure-designated-start-up/article_ff2a2bca-b707-11e3-968a-001a4bcf887a.html