John Faso (photo by Phyllis McCabe)
U.S. Rep. John Faso (R-Kinderhook) released a statement this afternoon saying he’ll vote against the tax reform proposal tomorrow.
Faso said two provisions of the bill would be particularly bad for New York State’s economy: the removal of deductions for state income taxes and limits on deductions for local property taxes.
Faso said most middle-income taxpayer’s in his district, New York’s 19th, would see a tax cut under the proposal, but the overall effect would be harmful for the state’s economy.
His opposition echoes those of other blue state Republicans. “I cannot support the current version of the tax bill because it will increase taxes for many of my constituents to subsidize tax cuts for the rest of the country,” Rep. Peter T. King (R-N.Y.) said several weeks ago.
The full statement:
Faso to Vote “No” on Tax Proposal
Washington, D.C. – Congressman John Faso (R-Kinderhook) today announced that he would not support the tax reform proposal in its current form:
“There is no question that the federal tax code – with more than 70,000 pages of regulations – is broken. It is unfair to hardworking taxpayers, contains too many loopholes for special interests and is hampering the growth of our economy and ability of American workers to compete in the global economy. I have consistently stated that my goals for tax reform are to increase economic growth, increase worker paychecks, incentivize small business investment and ensure New York families are better off. Unfortunately, I do not believe the current tax bill being considered by the House meets all of these goals. As such, I will vote no when the bill is considered in the House of Representatives tomorrow.
“The complete removal of the deduction for state income taxes and the limitation on deductions for local property taxes will impact New York families more severely than taxpayers in other states. While the full SALT income tax deduction for individuals is repealed, full deductibility will remain in effect for corporations and other business entities, thereby protecting taxpayers in states like Texas which rely more heavily on corporate taxes. Since New York taxpayers already send over $40 billion more in tax dollars to Washington than we receive back in federal benefits and services, we are not being subsidized by any state. Frankly, I resent the accusation that New Yorkers are being subsidized by the rest of the nation, when in fact the opposite is true.
“Lastly, contrary to the rhetoric of Governor Cuomo and Senator Schumer, most middle income taxpayers in our district would receive tax cuts under this bill. However, the statewide impact of the proposal will dramatically and negatively impact state revenues as wealthier taxpayers and their businesses flee New York State to lower taxed jurisdictions. These revenue reductions will ultimately hurt our district as the state’s tax base is further eroded. We are already losing people due to the failure of Governor Cuomo to reduce New York’s high tax burden and to honestly address the regulatory climate which is killing jobs and opportunity in our state. The constant call from the political left to ‘tax the rich’ is actually helping to destroy our tax base and jobs for our citizens. However, my dissatisfaction with New York’s status quo, does not allow me to conclude that New York families should become collateral damage in the federal tax debate because Albany refuses to improve the tax and business climate in our state.”
Yay, Faso won the “you can vote against this because we already have the votes” lottery! I’ll bet he got a nice pat on the head from Paul Ryan, who said, “Good boy, you’re a maverick now!”
I wonder what it would look like if we had a Congressman with actual courage, who could have said “no” back when passage was still uncertain. With lapdog Faso, we’ll never know.