As 2017 comes to a close, talk of taxes and elections past and future are rocking the business world. Here are three stories that’ll shape the economy of Syracuse, New York state and the United States in the coming year.

Republican tax plan

The GOP tax plans making their way through the House of Representatives and the Senate have proposed the most sweeping changes to the U.S. tax code in decades. The plan will affect every corner of the country, including Syracuse and Syracuse University.

A fundamental component of the bill is a potential reduction in the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 20 percent. The theory behind any corporate tax cut is that lower taxes will promote business growth, create jobs and raise wages. But there’s no guarantee businesses will invest in expansion.

It is possible — and quite likely — that many companies will use money saved from the tax cut to fund share buybacks and increase dividends. And as The Washington Post has revealed, some companies have indicated they would do just that.

If the House and Senate can reconcile and pass a final version of the bill, the coming months will be telling as to whether or not tax cuts are an effective pro-growth policy.

NYS gubernatorial election

New York state will hold its gubernatorial election on Nov. 6, 2018. Sitting Gov. Andrew Cuomo has already announced he will seek re-election for a third term next year. There’s been talk of competitors stepping up, but no other major candidates have declared they’ll run in 2018.

Since Cuomo was first elected in 2010, he has implemented a significant wave economic growth initiatives including the Regional Economic Development Council initiative and the Upstate Revitalization Initiative.

The REDC initiative led to the creation of 10 regional councils that are fundamental components of Cuomo’s economic development initiatives. And through the URI, the state has pledged to invest $1.5 billion in economic growth in upstate New York.

If Cuomo is re-elected, he will likely continue these initiatives. But we haven’t seen many of their intended results yet, as many of Cuomo’s economic investment plans will take years to come to fruition.

Walsh’s business plan

Syracuse Mayor-elect Ben Walsh will have the opportunity to implement his three-pillar platform when he takes office in January.

One of Walsh’s main priorities is reducing poverty and increasing access to economic opportunity for all Syracuse residents. He aims to tackle the segregation of neighborhoods, a longstanding issue in the city. Some neighborhoods are very wealthy, and they’re sharply divided from those with high concentrations of poverty. Walsh has pledged to work with local lenders to develop an interest rate buy-down program to help residents secure down payments on homes and start building mixed-income neighborhoods.

Walsh has also announced his 86-person transition team, and the Economic Inclusion team within it is one of the largest. The team brings together many business leaders and local politicians with backgrounds in economic development.

Walsh has also announced other initiatives, including an effort to increase the number of partnerships between local businesses and universities for research, an immediate review of Onondaga County’s Shared Services Plan and the improvement of accountability in City Hall.

Daniel Strauss is a junior finance major and public communications minor. His column appears biweekly. He can be reached at dstrauss@syr.edu and followed on Twitter @_thestrauss_.

Published on December 12, 2017 at 10:50 pm