New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) on Sunday said the GOP tax bill starts an “economic civil war,” arguing that it punishes some states, including his, disproportionately.
“What they did here was reprehensible. I call it an economic civil war,” Cuomo told host John Catsimatidis on the New York-based radio show “The Cats Roundtable.”
“It is a dagger at the economic heart of New York,” he added.
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Cuomo argued that New York and other Democratic states will be paying a higher level of taxes because the Republican tax bill plans to eliminate “the deductibility for state and local taxes.”
Republicans representing states such as New York, New Jersey and California, where there are often high local taxes and high property values, were critical of the elimination. Some House Republicans, such as Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), have refused to sign onto the final legislation for that reason.
“They’re using those states to finance the tax cut in the other states: New York and California, which already pay more to the federal government than other states. They get hit disproportionately hard by eliminating what is called the deductibility for state and local taxes,” Cuomo told Catsimatidis.
“They use New York and California and other Democratic states as a piggy bank, the funding mechanism, to fund the other states,” Cuomo said, saying the measure was drawn up “along purely partisan lines.”
President Trump and GOP lawmakers are expected to pass the measure early this week — a huge legislative victory for Republicans, who would reform the tax code for the first time in 30 years.
Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) said on Sunday that he expects the Senate to pass the measure on Tuesday.