New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he explained to President Trump in a White House meeting today that the cap on state and local tax deductions would hurt Republican states that benefit from richer blue states like his own.
“Remember the tax bill that did this was passed under a Republican Senate and a Republican Congress. We now have a Democratic Congress. And the Democratic Congress understands this fully,” Cuomo told WCBS 880 after the meeting. “It’s Democratic states that are paying the price. And the Democrats are moving it aggressively. The president understands it. He got away with it when he had total control.”
Cuomo declared that he’s “organizing governors all across the nation… and the President understands it.” Four states sued the federal government last summer over the $10,000 cap on federal deductions for state and local taxes in the 2017 tax bill.
“The president previously said that he was open to a change. He suggested he was open to a change here also,” Cuomo continued. “Because he understands, you hurt New York, you hurt California, you’re hurting the economic engines of the nation. I mean, this is an administration that loves to talk about the economy and how they’re growing jobs. The jobs are coming from New York, and they’re coming from the Northeast, and they’re coming from California. That’s where the new jobs are being generated. You hurt those states, you hurt the economic engine.”
“Believe it or not, there are 10 states that contribute funding to the federal government and 40 that get subsidized. Just think about that: 10 states contribute, 40 are subsidized. It’s ironic that the administration that talks about being against redistribution of income, right, they hate when you say you should tax the rich to provide services, they call it redistribution,” the governor continued. “This is redistribution on steroids. This is the 10 rich states subsidized the other 40. Now it just so happens that the 10 richer states happen to be Democratic states, and the 40 happen to be Republican states. So, it’s politically convenient for them to take from the Democratic states, or what they call the blue states, and give to the red states. It is totally hypocritical as a matter of philosophy. It’s ultimately destructive because if you hurt the engine that is creating the wealth, you hurt the entire country. And that’s what they’re doing.”
The White House said Trump’s meeting with Cuomo “demonstrates the president’s willingness to meet regularly with our nation’s governors.”
“The president reiterated the negative impact that high taxes in states like New York have on hardworking families and job creators. The president discussed economic growth opportunities for the state of New York, including helping lower energy prices throughout the entire Northeast by allowing low-cost, American energy to thrive with fracking and pipeline systems,” said deputy press secretary Judd Deere. “The two also discussed the need to update America’s outdated infrastructure system. And, the president raised his concerns to Governor Cuomo about Democrats’ support of late-term abortions.”
Cuomo said Amazon chose New York for one of its headquarters “because of our vibrancy, and our education system, and because we’re an international center for talent.”
“That’s good for the country,” he said. “You don’t want to hurt that for some cheap political motivation.”
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