FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
October 6, 2017

Speaker Carl Heastie and Ways and Means Chair Helene Weinstein Call on Congressional Delegation to Protect New York's Families from Regressive Federal Tax Reform Plan


Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Ways and Means Chair Helene Weinstein today issued a letter to members of the New York State Congressional delegation calling on them to protect New Yorkers from the negative impacts of the federal tax reform plan.

"Among other things, the Unified Framework for Fixing our Broken Tax Code establishes a goal of making the tax code 'simpler, fair and easier to understand' while giving 'American workers a pay raise.' Unfortunately, when it comes to millions of hardworking New Yorkers, these goals are wildly missed," Heastie and Weinstein wrote.

According to a recent analysis by the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, the elimination of the state and local tax deduction will cost New Yorkers more than $17.5 billion in additional taxes on an annual basis. As presently conceived, over 1.8 million of New York's middle-income families (those earning $50,000 to $150,000) will see an average tax increase between $1,299 and $2,688.

The implications of the proposed repeal of the state and local tax deduction would have devastating consequences on regional economies throughout the state. For example, 1.1 million taxpayers in the City of New York will see a federal tax increase in excess of a combined $7.9 billion. Close to one million taxpayers on Long Island will see an average tax increase of $4,587 and taxpayers in the Mid-Hudson region will see an average tax increase of $5,597. Capital Region families will see an average tax increase of $3,088, while taxpayers in Western New York would witness an average tax increase of $2,967.

"We are looking forward to your firm and steadfast rejection of any proposals that would make New Yorkers bear the brunt of federal tax reform efforts. We look forward to enactment of a tax reform package that puts families first, provides relief for the middle class and opportunities for taxpayers that need it most," Heastie and Weinstein wrote.

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