Photo Courtesy of the Office of the Governor
Cuomo called the proposed $100B tax cut “a missile” fired “at the heart of our working and middle-class New Yorkers.”
Governor Andrew Cuomo on Thursday announced that he will propose legislation to further decouple New York’s tax code from the federal code if President Donald Trump moves forward with a plan for a $100 billion capital gains tax cut.
Additionally, Cuomo called on Congress to immediately block any attempt by Trump to unilaterally cut taxes for the nation’s wealthiest 1 percent in violation of the Constitution.
Borough native Trump recently reached out to the U.S. Department of the Treasury to look into unilaterally slashing capital gains taxes by adjusting the levy for inflation, which would lead to approximately $100 billion in tax cuts over the next ten years. According to Cuomo and most pundits, the cuts would disproportionately benefit the wealthiest people. The State Department of Tax and Finance estimates that this proposal would reduce state tax revenues by up to $500 million annually.
Cuomo noted that because of the way the state tax code’s definition of capital gains is coupled with the federal tax code, New York would automatically also adjust capital gains for inflation—delivering an additional tax cut to the wealthiest residents. The governor said that decoupling the State definition of capital gains from the federal tax code will ensure that, regardless of any windfall Trump’s $100 billion tax cut might give to the richest corporations and individuals, they won’t receive the same in terms of state taxes.
“After running on a scam platform of fighting for the middle-class, President Trump is again firing a missile at the heart of our working and middle-class New Yorkers,” Cuomo added. “I call on Congress to block any illegal attempt by President Trump to enrich his friends at the expense of the American people. If the President moves forward with his $100 billion tax cut for the rich, I will propose legislation to decouple our state’s tax code and ensure New York remains true to its values as a progressive beacon for the world.”
In discussing decoupling on Thursday, Cuomo pointed out that Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act into law in December. The $1.5 trillion measure, according to the GOP, lowers individual tax rates for low- and middle-income Americans; improves savings vehicles for education and provides support for graduate students; increases the standard deduction and expands the child tax credit; delivers tax relief to “Main Street” job creators; preserves the home mortgage interest deduction; eliminates the ObamaCare Individual Mandate Penalty; prevents jobs, headquarters, and research from moving overseas; and lowers the corporate tax rate to 21 percent.
Cuomo on Thursday said the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was “very negative” for New York.
“It cost New York State $14 billion annually. That is on top of the fact that New York State is already the number one donor state to the federal government. Donor state, meaning, we give $48 billion more to Washington than we get back. That has been the fact for a long period of time…that inequity is then exacerbated by an additional $14 billion by the tax reform act in December,” the governor said.
