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Hudson Valley Congressional Democrats agree with Stefanik; at odds with Ocasio-Cortez

Apr 15, 2021 6:33 am

Emilie Munson reports in the Times Union that Hudson Valley Democrats in Congress Antonio Delgado, Paul Tonko, and Sean Maloney, are threatening other Democrats with a promise of a no vote on tax legislation that does not include a repeal of the state and local tax deduction cap. All New York Congressional Democrats except two signed a letter April 14 to repeal the Republican-passed $10,000 cap on the amount of state and local taxes an individual can deduct from their federal tax bill. So Delgado, Tonko, and Maloney now stand with Republican Elise Stefanik who has opposed the cap, saying it results in double taxation of the same income. Kathleen Rice and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, both New York Democrats, were the only state representatives not signing the letter. They agreed with Peter LaVenia, co-Chair of New York's Green Party, who wrote on Twitter, "Very disappointed to see my Rep. Paul Tonko, sign on to this letter calling for repeal of SALT cap. 96 percent of SALT repeal benefits would go to top quintile, 57 percent to top one percent and 25 percent to top 0.1 percent. SALT deduction is a handout to the rich that should be eliminated permanently." The issue is being forced now as the repeal will either be tied to President Joe Biden's infrastructure bill, or it will not pass for some time because of the razor-thin Democratic majority that can only get it through on that legislation's back. Read more about this story in the Times Union.