Faso says he’ll vote ‘no’ on tax bill
Mid-Hudson Republican cites expected negative impact on New York residents
U.S. Rep. John Faso will vote “no” on the tax reform bill agreed to by House and Senate negotiators, the Mid-Hudson congressman announced Monday.
Faso, R-Kinderhook, cited what he sees as the bill’s negative impact on New York state residents, the same reason he gave for voting against the original version of the bill just over a month ago.
“From the beginning, I wanted to support a tax reform plan that would increase economic growth, increase worker paychecks, incentivize small business investment and ensure New York families are better off. Unfortunately, this plan does not meet all of those criteria, and I will vote against the bill when it comes up for a vote,” Faso said Monday in a statement posted on his website.
“I remain concerned that as a result of the state’s high income and property taxes, the partial elimination of the SALT (state and local taxes) deduction effective January 1, 2018, impacts New York families more severely than those in other states,” Faso added. “These families have already made financial decisions based on this deduction, and to
have it removed without any chance to prepare is unfair . ...
“The overall impact of changes to the SALT deduction will accelerate the trend of hardworking individuals and businesses already leaving our state, further eroding New York’s tax base,” the congressman said.
Differing versions of the tax bill were approved by the House and Senate over the past several weeks, sending the legislation to a conference committee to work out the differences. That committee announced a deal last week, and the revised legislation is to be voted on this week by both chambers.
The changes appear to have placated enough Republicans who voiced concerns to ensure the bill’s passage. President Donald Trump has said he hopes to sign the bill by Christmas.
In the original vote in the House, Faso was one of 13 Republicans — all but one from high-tax New York, New Jersey and California — who voted “no” because that version of the bill included the elimination of deductions for state and local income and sales taxes and limited property tax deductions to $10,000.
The final version of the bill keeps the $10,000 cap, but House and Senate negotiators agreed to revive some of the deduction for state and local taxes.
The legislation would lower taxes for the richest Americans, while benefits for most other taxpayers would be smaller.
The tax rate for corporations would be lowered from 35 percent to 21 percent, in line with the longstanding Republican philosophy that a substantial tax break for businesses will trigger economic growth and job creation for Americans in a so-called “trickle down” economy.
The standard deduction — used by around two-thirds of households — would be nearly doubled, to $24,000 for married couples.
Faso, a first-term congressman, represents New York’s 19th District, which comprises all of Ulster, Greene, Columbia, Sullivan, Delaware, Schoharie and Otsego counties; most of Dutchess County; parts of Rensselaer and Montgomery counties; and a small piece of Broome County.