Photo Courtesy of Benjamin Kanter/Mayoral Photography Office
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (at podium), Sen. Schumer, Rep. Velazquez, and Mayor De Blasio rallied in Manhattan against the GOP Tax Plan on Sunday
By Michael V. Cusenza
Several elected New York officials on Sunday joined Mayor Bill de Blasio and representatives from labor and other advocacy groups in Manhattan to tear into tatters the tax reform plan put forth by Republican leadership in the House of Representatives.
U.S. Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand (both D-N.Y.); Reps. Nydia Velazquez (D-Brooklyn and Manhattan), Joe Crowley (D-Queens and Bronx), Greg Meeks (D-Jamaica), and Jerry Nadler (D-Brooklyn and Manhattan); and Assemblyman David Weprin (D-Richmond Hill) roundly ripped the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act as a crushing blow to New York families.
According to the GOP, the proposal is “pro-growth legislation that will overhaul our nation’s tax code for the first time since President Reagan’s historic tax reform 31 years ago.”
With the plan, Republicans are promising that you: will be able to keep more of your hard-earned money every month; will have help raising your children and supporting your family; are going to have more job opportunities and see your paycheck grow after years of stagnant wages; will be able to more easily start your own small business, be your own boss, and pass on your work to the next generation; will see more “Made in America”; will be able to continue using the retirement savings option that best suits your needs at each stage of your lives.
However, de Blasio called the proposal “nothing more than a giveaway to businesses and the wealthiest Americans.”
According to the administration, the five boroughs will be among the biggest losers if the reform plan as presently constituted is enacted. Of the 3.9 million families that file federal income taxes, under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, 760,000 families – the majority of whom are making less than $75,000 annually – would see an increase averaging almost $5,000 next year. That’s an additional $3.7 billion the federal government would claim from these families.
“We need to simplify our tax system, but we need to do it in a way that rewards work and not just profitable corporations and their CEOs,” Gillibrand said.
Additionally, according to the City, the elimination of several deductions will be immediately felt by New Yorkers in every borough. As a result of the plan:
• People with college debt – 250,000 filers in NYC alone – will no longer be able to deduct that interest from their federal income taxes. For example, a single filer with an income of $42,000, itemized deductions of $12,000, and $2,500 in student loan interest deduction, would see her taxes go up by $222 (+7 percent).
• New Yorkers struggling with exorbitant medical expenses will now pay more for necessary care. For example, a married couple filing jointly with $60,000 in income and $24,500 in itemized deductions (of which $18,000 is medical expenses) would see their taxes increase by $497 (+32 percent).
• Teachers using their own money on school supplies will no longer be able to deduct their expenses.
Senate Minority Leader Schumer blasted the proposal as “a betrayal of the middle class.”
