Brindisi asks NY Congressional Delegation to Block Proposal to End the State and Local Tax Deduction on Federal Income Tax Returns; Says Would Be a ‘Body Blow’ to the Middle Class in Upstate NY

GOP Just Passed Fed Budget That Would Put Locals In Tax Peril; Mohawk Valley Taxpayers Would Be Dealt Major Blow And Would See A Huge Federal Tax Increase

Nearly One In Four Mohawk Valley Taxpayers Use What’s Called The ‘SALT Deduction’; Average SALT Deduction In Mohawk Valley Amounts to $10,766—And Now It Is At Risk Of Being Axed So Very Rich Can Get A Tax Break

Brindisi: I Will Fight Threat Of Federal Tax Increase At State Level; The Super Wealthy Don’t Need A Tax Cut

Standing with a New Hartford family, New York State Assemblyman Anthony Brindisi launched a statewide push, today, and sounded the alarm hoping to prevent under-the-radar damage from being done to local taxpayers. Brindisi called out every New York member of Congress and urged them to preserve critical tax deductions now at risk as the new federal tax plan makes its way through Congress.

“I have a warning message for Mohawk Valley taxpayers: Washington is coming for our wallets, but we can fend this off with a good old-fashioned get-the-word-out fight,” said New York State Assemblyman Anthony Brindisi. “For the average homeowner in the Mohawk Valley, the State and Local Tax deduction is often the main way they pay for home improvements, school supplies, groceries, and yearly vacations. If SALT is eliminated, it will decimate the Middle Class in our region. And we’ve got to shout this message from the rooftops because the very rich are working behind the scenes to get their way—and believe it or not, they have allies.”

Specifically, Brindisi announced he will fight to preserve the area’s SALT (State and Local Tax) deduction that saves families in our area over $10,000 a year on their taxes, on average. Brindisi said residents from Utica, to Rome, and New Hartford must pay attention to what is happening at the federal level because a giant tax increase could be headed our way. Brindisi detailed his plan to fight this tax increase and said that giving federal tax cuts to the ultra-rich at the expense of us here at home makes absolutely no sense.

Brindisi today urged the entire New York Congressional delegation needs to fight any effort to repeal the State and Local Tax deduction that thousands of Mohawk Valley residents rely on.  He says the average Mohawk Valley homeowner could lose over $10,000 from that single deduction alone. Brindisi made his comments today at the home of Judith Jerome and Robert Rowe of New Hartford, property owners who would be significantly affected if the SALT deduction is repealed.

“About 86 percent of taxpayers who claim this deduction have an adjusted gross income of under $200,000.  Even if taxpayers can double the amount of the standard deduction, middle-class homeowners would still be hit by an average tax increase of $815.  Ending the SALT deduction means funding for public services and our infrastructure will be at risk, because the after-tax cost of these services will go up, and state and local governments will be burdened with finding ways to maintain them,” Brindisi added.

Brindisi explained that if the deduction is eliminated, about one in four Mohawk Valley taxpayers—or over 60,000 tax filers, comparable to the entire population of Utica–would be hit significantly. He says ending it could result in more than $670 million in losses for taxpayers and local communities in the Mohawk Valley Nationally, about 44 million tax filers claim SALT deductions in every state, meaning a potential loss of over $1 trillion.

Brindisi said according to the Tax Policy Center, under the Republican Tax Reform Framework taxes would go up for about one-quarter of all taxpayers—including 30 percent of those with an income between $50,000 and $150,000, and sixty percent of those with an income between $150,000 and $300,000.  The increase in taxes on middle-class families would primarily result from the loss of the state and local tax deduction and the personal exemptions under the plan.

He says under the current federal tax system, taxpayers itemizing deductions on their federal income tax returns can deduct state and local real estate and personal property taxes, as well as either income taxes or general sales taxes. Currently, state and local income and real estate taxes make up about sixty percent of local and state tax deductions, while sales tax and personal property taxes make up the remainder.  SALT has been a part of the original federal tax code designed to prevent taxpayers from double taxation by allowing them to claim a deduction for state and local taxes they have already paid from their incomes.

Assemblyman Brindisi went on to say that the Tax Policy Center analysis shows the Republican Tax Reform plan includes a doubling of the standard deduction that would not offset the costs for many middle-class families of losing the SALT deduction and personal deductions. He says taxpayers have to choose between the standard deduction and itemized deductions, and nearly all itemizers take the SALT deduction.  He says many Mohawk Valley families would be forced to choose between a decreased itemized deduction, or the doubled standard deduction, and no personal exemptions—and for many that would mean a sizeable tax hit.

“My husband and I are retired.  We live on a fixed income.  Our home is paid for and our student loans are paid.  When we file our annual tax return our biggest deduction is what we pay in property taxes which are high but which we also don’t resent paying.  However, we do resent this proposed federal tax plan which will substantially affect us and which will be providing enormous tax breaks to the very wealthy,” Judith Jerome of New Hartford said.

The following are statistics on the use of the SALT deduction in the 22nd Congressional District, which includes Utica, Rome, Cortland, and Binghamton: