Cuomo to attend meeting on his 'tax-free' NY plan

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- Gov. Andrew Cuomo is getting together with college presidents and economic development officials from across New York to discuss his plan to offer tax-free zones for high-tech businesses that move onto or next to college campuses.

Cuomo is attending a meeting at noon Monday with college officials and members of regional economic development councils at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, part of the University at Albany.

The governor unveiled his tax-free New York initiative last month. He says the plan would create jobs in a long-stagnant upstate economy by connecting academic research campuses with businesses that would receive tax exemptions.

Cuomo's proposal has been criticized by the Civil Service Employees Association as "another special giveaway to business."