Top aide to Gov. Andrew Cuomo Larry Schwartz told Fred Dicker on his Talk-1300 show that candidates for state office who oppose the cap on property taxes ought to “stay home.”

“If there’s anybody running for office who doesn’t support the governor’s property tax cap … forget it, stay home,” Schwartz said in the interview.

Schwartz singled out by name Democratic candidate Mike Amodeo of Buffalo who has hedged on supporting the tax cap, saying he is uncomfortable with the large majority needed — 60 percent — to override the cap.

In the meantime, Amodeo’s Republican opponent, Sen. Mark Grisanti, has featured Cuomo prominently in his TV ads.

“I think when you see both Democrats and Republicans in this bipartisan fashion putting the governor’s picture on their mail and TV ads, it’s not because of his popularity, it’s about what he accomplished,” Schwartz said.

Intentional or not, the line is sure to stoke Senate Republicans, who have sought to portray Democratic candidates as being against the 2011 tax cap.

The limit on property tax increases for school districts and local municipalities — which takes into account a variety of factors — was a signature economic accomplishment for Cuomo and a long-sought after control.

But it has come under some criticism for not being coupled with immediate mandate relief for local governments (Cuomo did successfully push for the Tier Six pension overhaul and those savings are spread out over years).

Schwartz also pushed back strongly against the Tax Foundation report out this week that found New York had the worst tax climate in the nation.

Schwartz said the ratings, including the “D” grade from the Libertarian-leaning Cato Institute were “based on ideology, not facts.”

He added that the Tax Foundation had a conservative-leaning “worldview” that colored its assessment.

The poor rating from the Tax Foundation came after Cuomo engineered an overhaul of the tax code right as the state’s so-called “millionaires tax” was due to expire.

The measure essentially gave the wealthy a smaller tax cut than they were in line to receive, but also reduced rates overall for those in middle-income tax brackets.

The deal, struck in December last year, defused the ticking millionaires tax time bomb, satisfying both Democrats and Republicans who could return to their bases and claim they either raised or lowered taxes.

It’s worth noting that Cuomo has cited the Tax Foundation’s reports in the past when demonstrating the climate of the state’s taxes before he became governor.

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