Official Whitehouse Photo by Shealah Craighead
Elected New York officials, including members of Congress, recently blasted President Trump’s tax plan.
By Michael V. Cusenza
Several elected officials who represent New York recently placed President Donald Trump’s latest tax plan in their crosshairs, roundly blasting the proposal as heavily favoring the wealthy.
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer on Sunday said that New York City and Long Island homeowners are in tax jeopardy as Trump’s new plan proposes eliminating state and local property tax deductions.
“Taking away or even reducing the state and local tax deductions would be brutally unfair and hit New York homeowners right between the eyes,” said U.S. Sen. Schumer (D-N.Y.). “This is the wrong thing to do if we are serious about helping to build and expand the middle class. Under President Trump’s plan, the top rate would come down, taxes that disproportionately affect the very wealthy would go away, while middle-class and working families would be denied some of the most frequently-used deductions: the state and local tax deduction. I will use my clout in the Senate to fight all efforts that would roll back the state and local property tax deductions.”
According to Schumer, the loss of the deduction would cost city residents an average of $5,500 per year for those who file itemized returns. And across the state, the deduction loss would total about $68 billion per year, or an average tax increase of $4,500 per New Yorker who itemizes—that’s $68 billion dollars that state residents will no longer be allowed to deduct from their federal tax returns.
“President Trump’s plan includes massive tax cuts for the very wealthy, and crumbs – at best – for everyone else,” Schumer said.
New York’s junior senator, Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), added, “I believe any true tax reform should accomplish three things: reward work, rebuild the middle class, and stem the tide of economic inequality. Unfortunately, the Trump tax plan fails all three tests. Instead, his Administration proposes massive tax cuts to profitable multinational companies. His plan would irresponsibly harm taxpayers and middle class families who ultimately will pay the price for these huge corporate giveaways.”
Vocal Trump critic and City Comptroller Scott Stringer branded the plan as “a gift to the Mar-a-Lago crowd…written by millionaires, for millionaires and it will be paid for by the rest of us through brutal cuts in federal spending.” He ultimately called Trump’s tax strategy “abominable.”
“It comes at a time when we have an income inequality crisis like never before in America, when we need to be a country where everyone pays their fair share. Instead, the proposed elimination of the Alternative Minimum Tax demonstrates that President Trump’s plan aims to benefit himself and people like him,” Stringer said. “For New York City, with the potential elimination of local and state tax deductions, this plan would do serious damage. This isn’t a plan to deliver growth – it’s a recipe to destabilize our economy and widen the gaps between the wealthiest and those most in need. Slashing corporate tax rates to 15 percent, as the president proposes, will result in massive budget deficits that could and will be offset by dramatic funding cuts.”
