Go bold, Bruce Blakeman with a tax plan even Democrats can love

New York is in an economic death spiral as companies and taxpayers flee, taking their money with them.Bruce Blakeman needs to go bold.So far, the Republican challenger in this November’s race for governor has been running a run-of-the-mill campaign, trading barbs with Gov.Kathy Hochul but advancing few big ideas.

   Come on, Bruce.Offer New Yorkers real change: Roll out a concrete plan to phase out the state’s personal income tax.It’s the economy killer.The Albany spendaholics — in both parties — will claim it can’t be done.But 68% of New Yorkers, regardless of their party affiliation, support zeroing out the income tax, a Morning Consult poll found.That includes 65% of Democrats, with only 20% strongly or somewhat opposed to axing the tax.All governments need tax revenue, but taxing income is far more damaging to the economy than taxing property or sales.State income taxes cause businesses to flee to lower-tax or zero-tax states, eroding the tax base and causing brain drain.In January, the White House Council of Economic Advisors urged all states with income taxes to end them, “though some combination of belt-tightening and finding less damaging forms of tax collection.”The CEA’s analysis of New York state found that terminating the tax would bring a host of benefits, on top of letting residents keep more of their paychecks. The average New York wage earner would make more pre-tax — as much as an average $6,757 more yearly — and business start-ups would increase by as much as 29%.Naysayers will note that the personal income tax provides 30% of the state’s massive $277 billion budget.They’ll ask how we can possibly fill that huge hole.The answer is there will be no hole, if Albany adopts the strategy that several other states are currently using to eliminate their income taxes. Here’s how it works: As soon as a state announces it will get rid of its income tax, business activity picks up.Companies plan ahead, betting the chang...