New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says he thinks the state can afford a tax cut next year, despite a projected $1 billion budget gap.

Governor Cuomo says he’s been holding down spending during his first three years in office, with an average growth rate of 2% per year, compared to an annual 10% increase before he was governor. He says he expects enough money can be freed up to finance some kind of tax reductions during 2014.

“I believe we’re going to have revenue at the end of this year that we can be talking about a tax cut next year,” said Cuomo. “That’s very exciting.”

Cuomo is up for re-election next year. He’s appointed two tax commissions, one co-chaired by former Governor George Pataki, to come up with a plan that could focus on property tax reductions. New York has some of the highest taxes in the nation.