Governor says 3,000 taxpayers in Orleans County would pay additional $1,500 in taxes in GOP plan
Press Release, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Office
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo has outlined the impacts of the GOP tax plan on New Yorkers in the Western New York and the Finger Lakes Region.
This bill, with the loss of the deduction for state taxes and a cap on the deduction for property taxes, disproportionately targets states like New York, which already sends $48 billion more to Washington than it gets back in funding – the highest of any state in the nation. In the counties represented by Rep. Collins, more than 236,000 New Yorkers will be affected by the destructive plan and see an average tax increase of more than $2,500 from the loss of these deductions.
That includes 3,063 taxpayers in Orleans County who would pay an average of $1,493 more in taxes, according to Cuomo.
“With the GOP tax plan, the Republicans in Congress are playing New Yorkers for fools and New Yorkers are not fools,” Governor Cuomo said. “This devastating plan is positioned to use New York as a piggy bank to finance the rest of the nation, crippling hardworking families across the state. I am calling on Congressman Collins to remember who put him in office and vote no on this unconscionable plan.”
The GOP tax plan also represents a massive tax cut for corporations and the wealthiest Americans paid for by the middle- and working-class people of New York. The plan lowers the tax rate for corporations by 40 percent, providing a trillion-dollar tax cut to the biggest companies in the world. Under the plan, corporations would still be able to claim state and local taxes as a regular business expense, while the ability of hardworking New York residents to deduct their state and local taxes from their federal income calculations would be capped or eliminated entirely.
The GOP tax plan would also eliminate the tax-free nature of private activity bonds, which are a critical source of infrastructure financing for projects like affordable housing, hospitals, airports, schools and college campuses. In New York, tax-exempt private activity bonds catalyze $11 billion in funding and support 84,000 jobs, annually.
By eliminating tax-exempt private activity bonds, this “job-killing plan” will prevent critical infrastructure projects from ever getting off the ground, Cuomo said. Projects that are built will be more expensive and the costs will often fall on those who are least able to afford them: For hospitals, that means patients will have to pay more for life-saving services. For colleges and universities, that means tuition will continue to sky-rocket and student debt will continue to climb. Moreover, it would cut $4.5 billion in affordable housing investment annually, which means that approximately 17,000 affordable homes will not be built every year.
In addition, Cuomo said to finance the corporate tax cuts and giveaways, middle-class taxpayers in New York and other states will lose other key deductions, including for student loan interest, tuition, and other education expenses, moving expenses, adoption, out-of-pocket classroom expenses for teachers, and out-of-pocket medical costs.
