Both Parties Agree: Senate Tax Bill Worse for New York Than House Version

By Jerry Zremski 

WASHINGTON — Democrats and Republicans don't agree on much these days, but in New York, they agree on at least one thing.

For the Empire State, the tax reform bill the Senate hopes to take up this week will be far worse than the version the House passed two weeks ago.

That's because the Senate bill — which passed the Senate Budget Committee Tuesday — would eliminate the state and local income tax deduction, while the House bill would allow homeowners to deduct up to $10,000 in property taxes.

In practical terms, the Senate bill would mean higher federal taxes for many middle-class homeowners who would be spared that fate under the House legislation.

Under the Senate measure, "obviously (the tax code) would no longer mask one of the issues that we face in New York, and that's the high-tax, high-spend culture we have out of Albany," said Rep. Tom Reed, a Republican from Corning who sits on the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee. "When you do that, you're going to have a corresponding impact on the people living in the state."

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Source: The Buffalo News (via The Empire Report)