Massachusetts

Will GOP Tax Overhaul Hurt Massachusetts Residents?

Will the GOP tax overhaul be bad for Massachusetts residents? Some local lawmakers think so.

House Republicans on Thursday unveiled a tax cut plan that would slash the corporate rate and lower the personal taxes of most Americans but also limit a cherished deduction for homeowners, as President Donald Trump and the GOP seek to deliver on the first tax revamp in three decades.

Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin said this week that he is "very alarmed" at efforts by the Trump administration to eliminate the ability of taxpayers to deduct state and local tax payments from their federal income tax. The proposal would also limit deductions of property taxes to $10,000 per year.

"Eliminating the state and local tax deduction would disproportionately harm Massachusetts taxpayers," Galvin, a Democrat, said. "Capping the property tax deduction at $10,000 would hurt middle-class homeowners in many Massachusetts communities and the rest of the Northeast, where property tax bills can easily exceed that amount."

The Boston Globe said the new tax plan would have the greatest impact on anyone buying homes around Boston where the median home prices exceed $625,000, potentially costing them thousands.

Gov. Charlie Baker, a Republican, also expressed concern with the GOP tax cuts.

"Governor Baker has serious concerns about the impact that eliminating the state and local tax deduction would have on Massachusetts families," his office told the Boston Herald. "The Baker-Polito Administration works with a bipartisan group of legislators to ensure Massachusetts remains a competitive place for economic growth and encourages the President and Congress to do the same as they pursue federal tax reform."

U.S. Rep. Richard Neal of Massachusetts, the ranking Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee, said the bill "falls short of reform, falls short of middle-class tax relief and falls short of the fiscal principles to which Republicans have long held themselves."

He added that the proposal "tilts the tax code farther from the middle-class and more towards the well-off and well connected."

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