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Suozzi: “Make America Fair Again” by Restoring Full SALT Deduction

June 25, 2019
Press Release
Bayville Mayor Robert De Natale testified at House Ways and Means hearing as to the impact of the SALT cap on his village and all Long Islanders

Today, Congressman Tom Suozzi (D-Long Island, Queens) fought to reinstate the State and Local Tax deduction, that the GOP tax bill capped at $10,000.

 

At a House Ways and Means Committee hearing that focused on the impact of the 2017 Republican tax law, which capped the state and local tax (SALT) deduction at $10,000, Suozzi said “Let’s make America fair again. The capping of the SALT deduction is unfair because:

 

  • New Yorkers already subsidize other states by paying $36-45 billion more in taxes than we receive back from the federal government;

 

  • The repeal of the SALT deduction results in double taxation by imposing federal taxes on the income used to pay state and local taxes;

 

  • State and local governments are being penalized -- the SALT deduction dates to the Civil War, when the first federal income tax bill was signed into law.

 

  • The elimination of the deduction compounds the already high cost of living on Long Island and is driving people from their homes to places where the cost of living is lower. As a result, communities are losing tax revenue which should be going to critical municipal services.”

The House Ways and Means Select Revenue Measures Subcommittee later held a Members’ Day Hearing to permit other House members to testify about the impact the SALT cap has had on their constituency. Congressman Suozzi chaired that hearing.

Because Long Island was particularly hard hit by the $10,000 cap on SALT deductions, Suozzi was asked by the Ways and Means Committee to invite a mayor from his district to testify at today’s hearing. Suozzi invited the Republican Mayor of Bayville, Robert De Natale.

 “I would like to thank Congressman Suozzi for inviting me to speak on behalf of the residents of Bayville. The hardship caused by the limitation of the SALT deduction has been a 1 – 2 punch to our village. It has resulted in higher taxes and lower home values. Many longtime residents are rethinking whether they can afford to stay in a village that has been home many years,” said Mayor Robert De Natale. “This is not a Republican or Democrat question. It is a question of fairness. This SALT cap limit is totally unfair to villages like mine and others throughout the country.”

 

To pay for the reinstatement of the SALT deduction, Congressman Suozzi suggests raising the top individual rate back to 39.6 percent from 37 percent and raising the corporate rate to 25 percent from 21 percent. Raising the tax rates on higher-income taxpayers in every state would remove the added tax burden from those living in high-tax states, such as New York. These changes would raise about $600 billion over the next 10 years which would pay for the SALT cap repeal.

 

Earlier this year, Suozzi worked with Rep. King to introduce legislation which would repeal the cap on SALT deductions entirely. Not only did cap raise taxes on middle class families in areas with a high cost a living, it also includes a significant marriage penalty, undermines crucial state and local investments in services that benefit the whole community, and SALT cap will lead to a drop in real estate values and will significantly erode the most important tax incentives supporting homeownership.