Cuomo among 7 governors asking Biden to end SALT, which drives up taxes for many New Yorkers

Press Release, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Office

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and six other Governors have issued a letter asking President Joseph R. Biden to support repealing the cap on state and local tax deductions implemented by the Trump Administration as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017.

The SALT cap will force approximately 11 million Americans to pay $670 billion in taxes over a decade. In New York, taxpayers are being forced to pay more than $12 billion in additional taxes to the federal government annually.

The letter notes the efforts of the Biden Administration to pass the American Rescue Plan and Treasury Secretary Yellen’s willingness to work with Congress to ease the $10,000 cap on SALT. The letter was signed by New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, California Governor Gavin Newsom, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont, Hawaii Governor David Ige, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker and Oregon Governor Kate Brown.

“In short, middle-class Americans are struggling under this federal tax burden, while corporations – which are still able to fully deduct SALT as business expenses – are profiting because of the same law,” according to the letter from the seven governors. “The negative impacts of the SALT cap on middle class families are particularly egregious when you consider that in the states most affected by this cap, the federal government already takes more in federal taxes than the states receive in federal support, effectively subsidizing federal payments to other states.

“It was heartening to hear Treasury Secretary Yellen agree to work with Congress to ease the $10,000 cap on SALT recently. On behalf of our residents, we urge your administration and Congress to continue these efforts to relieve this immense financial burden on our residents and eliminate the SALT cap entirely.”