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Long Island Pols Want State, Local Tax Deductions Restored

Long Island Congressman Tom Suozzi
Frank Eltman
/
AP
Long Island Congressman Tom Suozzi

Long Island Democratic Congressman Tom Suozzi has joined a caucus of representatives who say they will not support President Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan if it fails to restore state and local tax deductions.

Suozzi said the SALT cap is unfair to middle-class homeowners. He said they pay more in taxes than others on federal tax returns.

“The SALT deduction is essential to the long term success of New York state and New York City and the downstate region where we live and we have to get the state and local tax deduction back,” Suozzi said.

A “bipartisan SALT coalition” was created by members of Congress to push for the removal of the $10,000 limit on tax deductions set by the Trump administration in 2017. The coalition includes Republican Long Island Congressman Andrew Garbarino.

Suozzi and other Democrats said they will work with Biden on an infrastructure plan, but say it could take months to be enacted.

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone joined Westchester and Nassau County leaders to urge Congress to repeal a Trump-era rule that capped deductions at $10,000.

“It is wrong, it was wrong then, it was unjustified then. But now as we are merging from this pandemic, now as we are seeking to build back better and stronger, the time is now to ends the SALT cap rule, to restore our deductions, and to eliminate this massive federal tax increase,” Bellone said.