In advance of the Vice President of the United States meeting in Western, New York, the NYS Association of Counties released the following guiding principles as negotiations continue to reform the Federal Tax Code:
- Federal tax reform is necessary, but it must not undermine federalism in the process. The deduction for state and local taxes has been in the federal tax code since the beginning and it protects taxpayers from double taxation. Making individuals and families pay federal taxes on taxes they already pay is something that should never be compromised.
- Tax reform must be fair to New Yorkers, especially middle class families that are homeowners. These individuals are particularly vulnerable to paying higher federal taxes than they already do under the outlined proposals because of the elimination of the State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction, even if there is a doubling of the standard deduction.
- New York taxpayers already pay more in federal taxes than any other state, compared to what we get back in in federal outlays. The proposals on the table would make that imbalance worse. Federal tax reform must be fair and should not be financed on the backs of a handful of states.
For more on NYSAC’s opposition to eliminating the SALT deduction, visit http://www.nysac.org/taxation.
