West Chester officials urge Costello to vote no on tax bill
WEST CHESTER»In a show of solidarity, all seven members of borough council and the mayor-elect have urged Rep. Ryan Costello, R-6, to vote against the proposed tax bill.
Borough Councilman Michael Galey, W3, penned a letter asking the congressman to “do the right thing and vote no on final passage of this tax scheme.”
The rest of council and mayor-elect Dianne Herrin were quick to add their names
Galey words.
“We need you to vote no on the disaster of a tax bill that is brewing in Congress,” he wrote. “Pennsylvanians are watching events in Washington with growing concern.
“We don’t want special treatment but we do need basic fairness.” All politics is local. “It’s nice to see that your colleagues on council are paying attention to the same to the missive, following Wednesday’s meeting.
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mince things you are and everyone else is,” Galey said. “We’re all watching the news.
“It’s great to have a collaborative team that feels very strongly about these issues.”
All seven borough council members are Democrats.
Councilman Michael Stefano, W4, said that issues on the federal level are more often decided by partisan politics.
“At the local level we don’t make decisions Democrat or Republican,” Stefano said. “We’re thinking more locally with our constituents in mind because we’re not thinking along party lines.”
Galey noted in the letter that Costello has voted against the party in the past with votes favoring the ACA and to preserve CHIP.
“We don’t belong to the same party, and we don’t always agree on issues, but we’re writing you as fellow public servants and, more importantly, constituents who have seen you buck your party to stand up for your district,” Galey wrote.
Galey wrote that while Costello recently voted for the tax bill on the floor of the house, he hopes the congressman will change his vote.
“Many GOP members did so with assurances from their leaders that it would get better,” Galey wrote about the vote. “But, it has only gotten worse—and, moreover it poses a direct affront to positions you have taken in the past.”
Councilman Don Braceland, W5, said that “a ton” of people are against the tax bill.
“Costello seems to have turned a pretty deaf ear to his constituents who are leaning left,” Braceland said.
Galey noted that the bill mandates $25 billion in cuts to Medicare and ends the individual mandate in the ACA. Galey said the bill also would allow drilling in the Artic National Wildlife Range which Costello has spoken against.
“Even without those provisions, the underlying bill is still a calamity for Pennsylvania cities and towns and those who live in them,” Galley wrote.
Galey used numbers to back his points: 62 percent of all benefits in the bill go to the richest one percent and taxes will go up for 87 million middle class families.
Galey also told Costello that the bill would slash the deduction that working Americans take for paying local taxes on federal forms and balloon the federal deficit.
“We know you will be under immense pressure to vote for this tax scheme, from the president on down,” Galey wrote. “But you’ve faced that kind of pressure before.
“Now it is time to put the people of your district over your party.”
Costello responded via email: “If you’re a West Chester Borough resident that takes the standard deduction, this bill doubles your deduction and thereby reduces your taxes. That’s well over half of all borough residents.
“If you’re a small business owner in West Chester, this bill reduces your passthrough tax rate. And for the overwhelming rest of West Chester Borough residents, this bill reduces your tax rates, maintains the deductions for up to $10,000 in state and local property and income or sales taxes, saves the medical expense deductions, increases the child tax credit, eliminates the Alternative Minimum Tax for most individuals, and is projected to increase
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