ALBANY, N.Y. Nov. 9, 2017 — New York State United Teachers is taking a stand against a $5 trillion House Republican giveaway to corporations and the nation’s wealthiest, calling upon New York’s GOP members of Congress to oppose a tax plan that could cost the state nearly 25,000 education jobs and $37 billion in cuts to public schools over the next decade.
“This terrible tax plan would hit New York’s middle class families the hardest, stripping away a key tax deduction to pay for a giant tax giveaway to the richest 1 percent,” said NYSUT President Andy Pallotta. “Some of New York’s Republican congressional delegation obviously didn’t get the memo: They should be protecting their constituents, not voting for them to be double-taxed through the loss of their state and local tax deduction.”
In addition, Pallotta noted the House GOP tax plan would also eliminate a tax deduction for teachers who buy their own classroom supplies. Studies have shown that teachers spend anywhere from $400 to $1,000 out of their own pocket on supplies for their students.
“Teachers shouldn’t be punished financially for dipping in their own pockets to help their students,” Pallotta said. “Under the GOP House bill, corporations keep their tax deduction for the cost of supplies. Why are some in New York’s congressional delegation taking this deduction away from the educators in their own districts?”
The elimination of the SALT deduction would lead to the loss of $250 billion in public education funding nationwide and put at risk 250,000 education jobs. In New York, public schools would face the loss of $37 billion in funding and 24,628 education jobs over a 10-year span.
An analysis by the Fiscal Policy Institute found that the wealthiest 1 percent of New Yorkers would receive the greatest share of the total tax cut in 2018, and their share would grow through 2027. Meanwhile, an analysis by The New York Times showed that one-third of all middle class families would be paying more in taxes under the GOP bill.
New York State United Teachers is a statewide union with more than 600,000 members in education, human services and health care. NYSUT is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association and the AFL-CIO.