Tax-whack protection eyed

ALBANY — A Brooklyn lawmaker is pushing to have the state compensate taxpayers for any losses they suffer if Congress does away with the federal deduction for local taxes.

State Sen. Simcha Felder, a Democrat who sits with the Senate’s Republican conference, introduced a bill this week to create a state tax credit that would be equal to whatever federal tax increase a resident suffers if the deduction for state and local taxes is eliminated.

“This bill will protect every hardworking New Yorker from the uncertainty and potential negative consequences of Washington’s tax overhaul,” Felder wrote in a memo submitted with the legislation.

Felder’s bill has not yet been introduced in the Democratcontrolled Assembly and is likely to face an uphill battle to win approval.

It could, if approved, have an enormous impact on the state’s budget. State Controller Thomas DiNapoli has warned that the GOP’s plan to eliminate the federal deduction for state and local taxes — known as SALT — could cost New Yorkers $72 billion a year.

In his memo, Felder simply wrote that the fiscal impact of his bill was “to be determined.”

Gov. Cuomo has blasted Congress’ plan to do away with the SALT deduction, arguing it would be especially harmful to middle-class New Yorkers who live in high tax areas and could devastate the state’s budget by driving many taxpayers to relocate to other states.