Peter King, Kathleen Rice Speak Out Against Tax Cuts

Representative Kathleen Rice took the floor in Congress today to speak out against the proposed Republican tax cut plan, which she says will dramatically hurt her constituents.

Rice, a Democrat from Garden City, spoke out against the plan on Wednesday. Her concern — which is shared by many other representatives from the area, including Republicans — is that the proposed tax plan eliminates the State And Local Tax deduction (SALT), which many residents in high-taxed areas use to deduct their local tax payments from their federal taxes. By eliminating that reduction, homeowners on Long Island could see huge increases to their tax bills.

"Half of my constituents on Long Island deduct their state and local taxes — an average of $23,000," Rice said. "Under this bill, that disappears. Under this bill, corporations can still deduct their state and local taxes, but individuals and couples can not."

Representative Peter King, a Republican from Seaford, has been equally vocal about not ending SALT. He has taken to Twitter many times to call out Budget Director Mick Mulvaney for trying to end the deductions, and has not minced his words.

Rice has joined with her fellow Democrats in calling the tax cuts a scam to get more money to the rich at the expense of the middle class.

"I urge my Republican colleagues to give up this trickle-down fantasy and work with Democrats on real, bi-partisan tax reform that truly puts the middle class first," she said.

Lee Zeldin, a Republican Congressman from Shirley, is also opposed to the tax cut bill. "I remain a NO to this GOP tax bill in its current form," he wrote on Facebook. "Too many LongIslanders and other New Yorkers would actually see their taxes go up. We CAN and MUST do better and get this right. Fix this bill and I'll
happily change my vote."