Trump tax plan eliminates big perk for high-tax states
WASHINGTON — President Trump will release a sweeping plan Wednesday to cut taxes and simplify the tax code that will eliminate the deduction for state and local taxes — a move that Gov. Andrew Cuomo has warned would be a “death blow” for New York.
Despite fierce opposition from high-tax states when the idea was first floated, the Trump administration is pushing ahead with the repeal, which would remove state and local income and property taxes as deductions on federal returns.
The perk — first enacted with the income tax in 1913 — is most heavily used in coastal, bluer states that include New York, California, New Jersey and Connecticut.
Repealing it would increase federal revenue by $1.3 trillion over the decade, according to the Tax Policy Center .
But it would also slam high-income New Yorkers.
Manhattan leads the way nationally in taking the deduction, with residents writing off an average of $24,898 on their federal returns.
Deductions would remain for mortgage interest and charitable contributions.
Also, the standard deduction would nearly double to $12,000 for individuals and $24,000 for married couples.
The administration and GOP tax committee leaders will release the plan Wednesday.
They’ve agreed on the framework for the tax overhaul, while committees will have some flexibility to fill in the details.
Tax brackets will be whittled down to just three: 12, 25 and 35 percent, with room to add a fourth higher rate if necessary to ensure the wealthy pay their fair share.
But the income levels for the brackets will be decided by the congressional committees.
The top tax rate now is 39.6 percent.
White House officials said rates will be so much lower and the standard deduction so much higher that average Americans won’t miss the state and local tax deduction.
“This is going to be a tax cut for middle-income families,” said one senior administration official.
The death tax and alternative minimum tax would be repealed, along with most itemized deductions.
Cuomo has called the elimination of the state and local tax deduction tax a “death blow” to New York by putting the state at a horrible competitive disadvantage.
New York congressional Republicans had pleaded with Trump to retain the tax break over concerns it would hit New Yorkers hard and amount to an unfair double tax.
Republicans from New Jersey and California have also cried foul, and together with New York Republicans like Reps. Dan Donovan and Peter King, they could amass enough opposition to sink the proposal in the House.
More than 3.2 million people in New York — or about 35 percent of the state’s tax filers — claim their state and local taxes as deductions on their federal returns.
Nationwide, about a third of all taxpayers itemize their taxes and virtually all who do so claim deductions for their state and local taxes on income, real estate, property and sales taxes.
Households making more than $100,000 benefit the most.
The GOP plan also calls for a “substantially higher” child tax credit, a new $500 credit for non-child dependents like aging parents and retaining unspecified incentives for higher education and retirement savings.
Trump has previously said he doesn’t want the tax overhaul to be a break for the rich. The White House maintained the wealthy would continue to pay the bulk of federal income taxes.
“We are committed to making sure the tax code is at least as progressive as the existing tax code … and does not shift the tax burden from high-income to low- and middle-income taxpayers,” another senior administration official said.
Corporations would see their top tax rate cut from 35 to 20 percent. For a period of five years, companies could further reduce how much they pay by immediately expensing their investment in capital goods.
New benefits would be given to firms in which the profits double as the owners’ personal income. They would pay at a 25 percent rate, down 39.6 percent. This creates a possible loophole for rich investors, lawyers, doctors and others, but administration officials say they will design measures to prevent any abuses.
The tax plan now heads to the House and Senate tax writing committees to work out the details.
The White House wants the plan passed by the end of the year.
http://nypost.com/2017/09/27/trump-tax-plan-eliminates-big-perk-for-high-tax-states/
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According to the most recent IRS tally, nearly 44 million people claim the deduction for state and local taxes in 2014, especially in the high-tax, high-income states of California, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
I do not support this. SC income tax is 7%. I enjoy that deduction.