Gov: We’ll sue to stop GOP tax hit

NEW YORK State will sue to block President Trump’s plan to stop taxpayers from deducting state and local taxes if it passes, Gov. Cuomo said Tuesday.

The sweeping tax plan backed by Trump and congressional Republicans includes a proposal to end the deduction, which Cuomo says would amount to a tax hike for many New Yorkers who itemize their taxes.

“We believe the new federal tax plan, if it goes through, is double taxation, and we will sue the federal government if they do that,” Cuomo said at a press conference at his Midtown office where he decried multiple “federal assaults on the State of New York,” which also include health care cuts.

“We’re not going to allow this state to be attacked and assaulted grossly and unfairly,” Cuomo said. “We will sue on the deductibility provision if it stays in at the end of the day.”

An analysis by Cuomo’s office predicted that in New York City, the 1.1 million residents who claim the deduction would see an average tax increase of $7,134.

Statewide, the change would result in an average $5,298 tax increase for the 3.3 million taxpayers who claim the deduction on their federal tax returns. In total, the impact would add up to $17.5 billion statewide.

People who take the standard deduction would not be affected.

“It is an attempt by the federal government, purposeful or coincidental, to make New York and several other states actually less competitive for businesses and people,” Cuomo said.

“If you raise our taxes, you make New York less competitive.”