GOP tax plan: We will ‘get screwed,’ says New York’s Rep. King
Rep. Peter King on Sunday said he still refuses to support the House Republicans’ tax reform plan, saying hard-working people will “get screwed” by the proposal, which is expected to be voted on this week.
“This is going to have a devastating impact on areas like mine on Long Island and it’s unfair,” King, R-N.Y., told Maria Bartiromo on “Sunday Morning Futures.” “If I’m the last vote, then they better restore the state and local tax deduction. Otherwise they’re not getting my vote.”
King has been fighting for weeks to have state and local tax (SALT) deductions remain intact. Under the Senate Republicans’ tax bill released Thursday, deductions on state and local taxes would be eliminated entirely.
Still there appears to be ongoing an ongoing back-and-forth within the party. After a series of meetings, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, agreed to keep the deduction for property taxes up to $10,000, though deductions on sales or income taxes would still be repealed.
However, on Sunday, Brady said he wouldn’t accept the total elimination of SALT deductions in the final tax bill.
“We want people to keep more of what they earn regardless of wherever they live, including in these high-tax states,” Brady told Chris Wallace during an exclusive interview on Fox News.
The SALT dedications have put the spotlight on high-tax states and how budgets are being managed.
Last week, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, during an interview with Bartiromo, said high-tax states need to get their budgets in check, which would help eliminate the need for SALT in the first place.
“I do hope that this sends a message to the state governments that, perhaps, they should try to get their budgets in line,” Mnuchin said during a speech at the Economic Club of New York.
On Sunday, King explained the reason why New York is considered “high-tax” is because much of the revenue that goes to the federal government isn’t returned to the state; about 79 cents on every dollar in the case for New York, while 61 cents on each dollar are returned to New Jersey’s government, according to King.
“We get murdered at one end and now we’re going to get it again by taking away most of the property tax deduction and all of the state income tax deduction, plus the individual exemption,” he said.
Lawmakers and officials from President Donald Trump’s administration are looking to put a tax bill on the commander-in-chief’s desk before Christmas.