[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 45 (Wednesday, March 13, 2019)]
[House]
[Page H2686]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                SUPPORTING STATE AND LOCAL TAX DEDUCTION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Zeldin) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. ZELDIN. Mr. Speaker, tax day is approaching on April 15, and I 
again rise to state my support for the State and local tax deduction.
  There were many positive aspects to the tax bill that I voted 
against.
  I support reducing the corporate tax rate, but it should not have 
been done by increasing personal taxes on any hardworking middle-income 
Long Islander in my district.
  The $10,000 cap that was made to the SALT deduction was a punch in 
the gut to middle-class taxpayers in my district.
  There were positive aspects, as I said, of the tax bill: expanding 
the medical expense deduction, preserving education and student 
deductions, doubling the child tax credit, the AMT changes.
  And as I stated, changing the corporate tax rate helps make the 
United States more competitive globally, to improve our business 
climate, to help create more jobs, but it should not be done by raising 
taxes on the personal income side.
  I have been working closely with colleagues on both sides of the 
aisle to address this issue. I have been working with Democratic 
Representative Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey. I cosponsor legislation 
between Peter King, a Republican, and  Tom Suozzi, a Democrat, H.R. 
257. Nita Lowey introduced a bill that I cosponsor, H.R. 188.
  Mr. Speaker, I encourage all my colleagues in this Chamber to work 
together to address this important issue, because it is important to 
deliver tax relief to all Americans.
  Now, I do have an important message, though, to the Governor of New 
York, the mayor of New York City, those who are running State and local 
governments in States like mine. The reason why our State and local tax 
deduction was as high as it was is because our State and local taxes 
are as high as they are.
  So everybody needs to look in the mirror and figure out what we can 
do to do our part, because all levels of government need to deliver tax 
relief.
  My home State of New York has some of the highest taxes in the entire 
country. It is ranked as the second worst State in the entire Nation to 
do business. You couple that with the loss of the SALT deduction, and 
it has only sped up the amount of businesses and individuals who are 
choosing to leave our State.
  It was very upsetting to see an effort by elected officials, some 
here in Congress, others in the State legislature to push away 25,000 
good-paying Amazon jobs that would have been coming to Long Island 
City.
  Now, we all must do our part. The State and local tax deduction has 
been around in some way since, you could say, Abraham Lincoln's 
administration. He used the State and local tax deduction to help keep 
this union together and fight the Civil War.
  It was a tough debate a little over a year ago now when the tax law 
was passed through both Chambers and signed by the President, but next 
month, as April 15 approaches and people have to pay their taxes, they 
are going to be seeing less in their return, many will be seeing less 
in their return where I am from. Some will be getting more, and that is 
great.
  I didn't oppose this bill because all of my constituents were going 
to see a tax increase. It was that too many were going to see a tax 
increase.
  Now, all, when they are getting their tax return need to understand 
that throughout the year, money was added to their paycheck because of 
a change in the way that taxes were calculated with withholdings 
through the year. So that is something else to factor in when trying to 
figure out the impact of the tax bill. Again, some people will be 
seeing less that they owe, others will be seeing more.
  In this Chamber, in the halls of the New York State capitol, in the 
halls of State capitols everywhere, in city halls, in county and town 
governments all throughout America, we all need to do our part to 
deliver tax relief.

                              {time}  1030

  Because at all levels of government, really, it is not a revenue 
issue that has been leading to the situation that we face as a country 
and in our local governments. It has been an expenditure issue.
  Whether you could save a dollar, a million dollars, a billion 
dollars, wherever you can find money to save, we need to get better at 
how we tax and spend the people's money. We need to spend it as if it 
is our own.
  Mr. Speaker, there is a message here to my colleagues in this 
Chamber. I ask for their support of this legislation, multiple bills 
that have been introduced. I make that plea to the Senate, to the 
administration, and also to all those representatives of State and 
local governments responsible for the fact that the reason our 
deduction was as high as it was, was because our State and local taxes 
were as high as they were. But we need to do our part here in this 
Chamber.

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