CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. -- Gov. Andrew Cuomo came to Western New York on Thursday to discuss new measures to fight the opioid crisis, but he spent most of the first 10 minutes of his press conference talking about the president's federal tax plan.
"It would raise taxes for every individual and for every company," he said.
In particular, Cuomo argued against the proposed elimination of the state and local tax or SALT deduction. The governor said the state has made great strides in minimizing tax increases, and shared services programs and the tax cap are helping to start make progress on the property tax. Regardless, he said New York property taxes remain among the highest in the country.
"This, in one strike of the pen, will reverse all that progress, raise taxes for individuals and make us much less competitive for businesses," he said.
Cuomo's office also released analysis claiming the elimination of the deduction would cost New York taxpayers $5,300 more in federal income tax on average.
"Eliminating state and local helps in some states but it's devastating to states like New York and like California."
Researchers at conservative think tank Empire Center for Public Policy said the numbers are simply wrong, arguing there aren't enough details to the federal proposal to make these kind of predictions. Furthermore, they said it appears the governor didn't factor any offsetting savings in the plan, like the doubling of the standard deduction.
Cuomo's office said the numbers are solid, come directly from the department of taxation and finance, and were vetted by the division of budget. The governor is calling on the New York State congressional delegation to stop the proposal anyway it can.