Assemblyman launches YouTube fight against Paterson's proposed 'iTax'

Frank Sinatra, he's not. But you can't accuse Assemblyman Jim Tedisco of not knowing how to spin a point.

The Republican Minority Leader has launched a YouTube campaign against Governor Paterson's new tax- and fee-filled state budget for the 2009-2010 fiscal year. The budget was unveiled more than a month early, on Dec. 16th, in an effort to get an early start on tackling the $15.4 billion budget gap.

Some items that would be taxed in New York state if the Governor's budget is passed? Movie tickets, taxi rides, soda, beer, cigars and massages.

And then there's the so-called iTunes tax, which would tax downloadable music, movies and other online entertainment.

Now Assemblyman Tedisco (R-Saratoga, Schenectady) is taking to the medium to wage his own campaign against what he calls the iTax. The YouTube video opens with Tedisco singing a few off-key bars to Sinatra's "New York, New York," before he goes on to argue that the proposed "iTax" is just plain "wrong," imagining a scenario in which all the other states follow suit in proposing and instilling a similar tax.

Tedisco then appeals to the viewer to contact the Governor or to contribute to the Republican conference to express their displeasure with the tax.

Watch the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CqrH0Cbg2Y