New York's coffers are supercharged. The state received $12.5 billion from the federal government in pandemic relief last month, tax collections are billions more than expected just 11 months ago, and the new $212 billion budget raises taxes on upper income earners.

Republican lawmakers, meanwhile, are calling into question those tax increases, which also hiked the rate for corporations in New York, and whether they were necessary in the first place.

"A recently-released report from the comptroller’s office echoes one of our conference’s primary objections to the Democrats’ massive tax hikes - state revenue figures are much stronger than anticipated," said GOP Assemblyman Ed Ra. "Tax collections are up $6.8 billion from estimates in May. The escalating revenues and the infusion of $12.5 billion in unrestricted federal aid put New York state in a strong position to invest in a robust COVID-19 recovery effort without raising taxes."

Democrats have argued the tax hikes were needed to have stable revenue sources beyond this year. The budget increased spending for direct aid to schools over the next three years to a target sum sought by education officials for more than a decade.

The move, however, has called into question New York's tax climate once again, already ranked among the nation's highest.

"The Democrats’ choice to do otherwise was totally ideological, totally unnecessary and totally shortsighted," Ra said. "In the coming years, when successful firms relocate and successful New Yorkers file their state taxes elsewhere, there won’t be another emergency relief act to bail us out. Taxpayers will know who to blame."