Scozzafava dislikes Paterson proposal to up utility tax

Assemblywoman Dierdre K. Scozzafava said Tuesday that she opposes Gov. David A. Paterson’s budget proposal to allow cities and villages to raise the maximum gross receipts on utilities from 1 percent to 3 percent.

The Gouverneur Republican said the cost will be passed from the utility companies to consumers.

“The people of New York are being nickel-and-dimed out of their homes and businesses,” the assemblywoman said in a statement. “It never seems to end – new taxes are continually being created in order to make the taxpayers saddle the burden of Albany’s spending habits, and I will not vote for a budget that increases spending while passing the buck onto the people of New York.”