STANDING WITH CANANDAIGUA HOMEOWNERS ON THE BORDER BETWEEN REP REED’S & REP COLLINS’ DISTRICTS, SCHUMER CALLS ON REPS TO PROTECT WNY CONSTITUENTS BY OPPOSING REPEAL OF STATE & LOCAL TAX DEDUCTION AND ANY TAX BILL THAT CONTAINS ANY VERSION OF IT; IF ENTIRE NY DELEGATION OPPOSES BILL GUTTING STATE & LOCAL DEDUCTIBILITY, IT WOULD NOT PASS

GOP Is Moving Full Steam Ahead With Tax Proposal That Is Real Danger To Western New York’s Homeowners & Middle Class; Schumer Details How Plan Totally Eliminates WNY’ers Ability To Claim Significant Deductions On State & Local Taxes (SALT); Property Taxes, Too

More Than 22% Percent Of Western New Yorkers Use the SALT Deduction With An Average Deduction Worth 12K 

Schumer To WNY House Members: Block This Gut-Punch To Western New York’s Middle-Class Families   

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer joined Canandaigua and Western New York home-owners to launch a statewide push across congressional districts, urging House members to stand up for New York’s middle class and oppose the repeal or reduction of state and local tax deductions in the looming GOP tax plan. Schumer urged every New York House member to fight against any effort to repeal or reduce the state and local tax (SALT) deduction, which thousands of Upstate New Yorkers rely on. Schumer said that if the GOP tax plan were to pass, the average Western New York homeowner could lose nearly $12,000 from that single deduction alone. Schumer pointed out eliminating or reducing the state and local tax deduction would have ripple effects of decreasing home values in the region and placing pressure on state and local governments to reduce their taxes and cut spending on education and local law enforcement.  

“Whether the savings from these deductions becomes money for home repairs, groceries, school supplies or even the yearly vacation, it belongs in the pockets of Western New Yorkers, period,” said U.S. Senator Charles Schumer. “These deductions should not be eliminated so people making millions of dollars a year can catch a tax break of their own. It simply makes no sense for Congress to eliminate the SALT deduction, which has helped steady the cost of many middle-class families living in Western New York–it would be double taxation on the middle class. Without state and local deductions potential homeowners may look elsewhere which could devastate the local economy. So, today, I’m saying to every member of Congress from New York: do the right thing and block this gut-punch to Rochester and Western New York’s middle-class. In the meantime, I will do everything in my power here in the U.S. Senate to fight this GOP-led effort to end critical state and local property tax deductions.”

Schumer explained that eliminating this deduction would tug on the purse strings of nearly a quarter of Western and Central New York taxpayers who, on average, claim nearly $12,000 in SALT deductions. Nationwide, approximately 44 million Americans take advantage of this deduction and a repeal could result in more than $1 trillion in losses for taxpayers and their local communities. Schumer said that reductions to—or the removing of these sorts of tax deductions—would hit Western New Yorkers particularly hard, given New York’s high taxes. Schumer has pledged to fight any efforts that would rollback critical savings deductions used by Western New York’s homeowners and taxpayers.

According to the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy, under the GOP plan in New York, 33 percent of taxpayers making $66,000 to $118,000 would see an average tax increase of $2,100 and 55 percent of taxpayers making between $118,100 and $275,000 would see an average tax increase of $3,380 next year.

Schumer pointed to Central and Western New York’s Congressional districts as he made his case and launched his statewide push:

Under the current federal tax system, taxpayers who itemize 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. State and local income and real estate taxes make up approximately 60 percent of local and state tax deductions while sales tax and personal property taxes make up the remainder.

The Republican Tax Reform Framework would eliminate the state and local tax deduction entirely. Currently, 44 million taxpayers, or 1/3 of all taxpayers, across the country take the state and local tax deduction.

The Tax Policy Center says that, under the Republican Tax Reform Framework, taxes would rise for approximately one-quarter of 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. 

Schumer went on to say that the Tax Policy Center analysis shows that the doubled standard deduction under the Republican Tax Reform Framework would not offset the costs of the loss of the SALT deduction and personal exemptions for many middle-class families. Taxpayers have to choose between the standard deduction or itemized deductions. Under the Republican plan, the loss of the state and local deduction would significantly decrease the value of the average itemized deductions below that of the doubled standard deduction. Families would be left with choosing between a decreased itemized deduction or the doubled standard deduction and no personal exemptions. For many, especially in high SALT states like New York, this would mean a large tax increase. This tax increase would effectively be used to pay for tax breaks for the wealthy. The Tax Policy Center estimates that 80 percent of the tax breaks in the GOP’s plan would go to the top 1 percent of earners.  

Schumer said that the elimination of these deductions would be detrimental to middle-class families in New York, particularly those in Western New York. Across New York, the deduction loss would total about $68 billion per year—that’s $68 billion dollars that state residents will no longer be allowed to deduct from their federal tax returns.

Schumer was joined by local homeowners, local realtors, school board association representatives, and local officials.

Canandaigua homeowner John DeBalso said, “As a middle class homeowner, any elimination of the state and local tax deduction would take money out of my pocket that my family counts on each year.  My wife and I both work hard to provide for our family and the last thing we need is to have these deductions stripped away from us.  We appreciate Senator Schumer’s support to maintain these vital tax deductions.”

 “New York’s REALTORS® urge the members of our Congressional delegation to join with Senator Schumer in rejecting tax reform proposals that threaten New York’s economy, hurt working families and crush the American Dream of Homeownership,” said Dawn M. Carpenter, New York State Association of REALTORS® president. “We support efforts to reform the federal tax code to create a more simplified and fair system. However, the elimination of state and local tax deductions, including property taxes, will unfairly harm New Yorkers. The White House proposal would end the tax benefits of owning a home for 95 percent of American families and increase taxes for millions of New Yorkers.”

“New York taxpayers have overwhelmingly supported their local school budgets, year after year, because they understand the impact that high quality public education has on the stability of our economy. Because of that support, NYS boasts many of the best public schools in our nation. Removing the deduction of SALT from the federal tax code will punish New York taxpayers for supporting the services that they believe are critical for the health and welfare of their families. The 4-County and Monroe County School Board Association members thank Senator Schumer for his continued efforts to provide for the children and families in NYS by fighting against this proposal,” said Sherry Johnson Executive Director of the Monroe County School Boards Association and Sharon Sweeney Executive Director of the Four County School Boards Association.

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