NEW YORK: Governor Andrew Cuomo unveiled a fiscal year 2022 budget proposal Tuesday with plans to raise taxes if the federal government fails to make the state whole from the losses he blames Washington for regarding the COVID-19 emergency.

Gov Andrew Cuomo outlined two plans.One was with the state receiving $15 billion in funding from the federal government, a proposal he called “fair” considering both the pandemic and New York’s status as the top donor state in the U.S.

The governor added that the $15 billion total represents 4.3 percent of the $350 billion in state and local aid President-elect #JoeBiden is proposing in his COVID relief package.

That percentage is lower than the state’s share of the U.S. population, Andrew Cuomo added.

If the state gets $15 billion in relief, the governor said the budget would include a tax cut for middle-class payers.Should the state not receive the $15 billion, #AndrewCuomo threatened to sue the federal government for it.

Besides possible tax hikes, #GovernorCuomo offers other ways for the state to raise revenue.That included the legalization of mobile sports betting and the legalizing recreational marijuana for adults.

The state’s fiscal year calendar starts April 1.

“The wealthy have gotten wealthier during this crisis even as the middle class has shrunk and millions of New Yorkers have struggled to make ends meet,” Senator #AndreaStewartCousins said.

She added that, “We must be ready to act as a state to advance efforts to raise revenues, including having the hyper-wealthy share this burden.”