By Lindsay Press
Joined by elected officials, real estate professionals and local residents, U.S. Representative Nick LaLota (R-Rocky Point) held a press conference inside the Suffolk County Legislative Building on January 30 calling to bring tax relief to Long Islanders by lifting the SALT (state and local taxes) cap. LaLota and those in attendance said the current $10,000 deduction cap needs to be raised.
“Why do Long Islanders so desperately need a higher cap on the state and local tax deduction? Because it’s so expensive to live here,” said LaLota, adding that New York has the highest taxes in the nation and is “dead last” in affordability. “Our high taxes are driven by taxes and spending that come from Albany; it costs us more to live here.”
New York State Senator Mario Mattera (R-Smithtown) said homeowners can use the additional money from raising the SALT cap for home improvements or vacations. “This is not about tax cuts for the wealthy, it’s about the people,” he said. “It’s about doing what’s right for all Long Islanders.”
One of the subjects that was brought up was outmigration. Brookhaven Town Supervisor Dan Panico said that New York leads the nation in out-of-state migration. “Sixty-percent left for economic reasons,” he said.
“Residents are not moving out of state because they no longer enjoy the beaches or the schools, but other states are considered to be less expensive to live in, and there may be more jobs available elsewhere,” added state Assemblywoman Jodi Giglio (R-Riverhead).
“We should not be penalized because we have good schools or we want to make investments in our parks.” added Suffolk Presiding Officer Kevin McCaffrey (R-Lindenhurst).
County Executive Ed Romaine emphasized that people should be able to deduct their state and local taxes and that there is “an unfair double taxation” on Suffolk County residents. Raising the SALT cap, he said, is “crucial to every person on Long Island.”
Marlo Paventi, the senior director of public policy and government affairs at the Long Island Board of Realtors, said the SALT cap just doesn’t hurt current homeowners, it hurts prospective homeowners as well.
“The dream of homeownership is slipping away,” Paventi said. She said she has watched “hardworking individuals looking for a place are met with higher prices and financial hurdles. … Every family deserves to buy a home.”
Smithtown residents Judy and Andrew Ratway also spoke about the struggles they faced under the SALT cap. “Retired people can’t afford to live here,” Judy said, adding she does not have any retirement or pension plans. “They property and local taxes are making it unaffordable to live here and survive. Action must be taken to rescind this [cap]. End the insanity!”
“For years, we could write off taxes with no tax limit and itemize,” said Andrew, who has lived in Smithtown for 43 years. “It seems like the state is being punished.”
LaLota said he is working with the “SALT bloc” in Congress — consisting of himself, Andrew Garbarino (R-Patchogue), Mike Lawler (R-Pearl River), Tom Kean Jr. (R-New Jersey) and Young Kim (D-California) — to get SALT relief passed. LaLota promised to those in attendance that he will not vote for any tax cut if it does not have SALT relief.
When asked how much will the proposed cap increase by,, LaLota replied, “We will not announce a specific number. It coild any good faith we have [with other members of Congress].”
In the event that the SALT tax cap is raised, LaLota said, it will not go into effect until 2026.
— Additional reporting by Hank Russell