At a time when families across Ulster County are struggling with the crushing cost of living, county leaders are proposing to make life even more expensive.

The new income-based surcharge being pushed by Ulster County Executive Jen Metzger, State Sen. Michelle Hinchey, and Assemblymember Sarahana Shrestha is being sold as fairness. It is not tax relief. It is not reform. It is another new tax.

Even worse, it would give county government a new revenue stream so that when future costs rise, government can take even more from taxpayers instead of making hard choices.

This is an extraordinary and dangerous idea. Once government creates a new tax, it rarely stops with the people it first claims to target.

And let’s be honest about who would get caught in this net. This surcharge would not just affect the ultra-wealthy. It would hit small business owners, entrepreneurs, family businesses, contractors and professional practices whose income often flows through their personal tax returns. These are the very people creating jobs, supporting local charities, sponsoring youth sports and keeping our Main Streets alive.

New York has already watched families, retirees, businesses and job creators leave for states where they can afford to live and invest. Now Ulster County wants to compound that same mistake at the local level. If you drive higher earners and employers out of the county, you shrink the tax base, weaken local businesses and leave everyone else paying more.

And why should taxpayers trust county government with a new taxing authority when it has struggled to properly collect and manage the taxes it already imposes?

A 2023 audit by the Ulster County Comptroller’s Office found that county tax collections under then-County Executive Pat Ryan were in shambles. The audit identified serious failures in delinquent property tax collection, weak internal controls, problems reconciling tax records with the county’s financial system, questionable withdrawals of properties from foreclosure, unnecessary penalties and interest, and taxpayer overpayments.

The Comptroller found one property alone with more than $11 million in delinquent taxes, while countywide uncollectible back taxes had ballooned to $21 million.

We need elected officials willing to show the same discipline families show every day: make tough choices, live within their means, and say no when government reaches once again into the pockets of New Yorkers.

Congressman Pat Ryan should immediately and unequivocally oppose this proposal. Ulster County taxpayers deserve to know whether he stands with them or with another tax increase dressed up as fairness.

A Kingston native, the author is the Republican candidate for the House of Representatives in New York’s 18th Congressional District.