Alfonse D'Amato

Middle class needs relief from all levels of government

Posted

In these tough financial times, the middle class suffers. In the suburbs of Long Island, families struggle to pay astronomical property taxes. Now young families are strapped with an additional burden. You get married and then have to put off buying your first home or having kids because you’re paying off your student loans with an additional 5 to 8 percent interest.

Right now in New York state, elected officials have a chance to demonstrate to the taxpayers that they truly care about their pocketbooks by embracing a plan to cut taxes for the middle class so that it can afford to stay in this great state. On March 9, Republican leaders in the State Senate unveiled an initiative aimed at reducing income tax rates on middle class families by 25 percent by 2025.

Long Island’s own Senate majority leader, John Flanagan, said, “We believe the people should have more money in their pockets and the government should have less.”

Bravo! You’d be hard-pressed to find many people who disagreed with that sentiment.

According to a press release, the plan calls for tax rates on middle-income earners to be lowered, beginning in 2018, from 6.5 to 5.14 percent. That reduction would cover single filers with incomes between $20,000 and $150,000, heads of households making between $30,000 and $225,000, and married joint filers with incomes between $40,000 and $300,000.

High tax rates in New York are driving people out of the state. According to studies, the Republican tax cut would impact 4 million taxpayers, saving them an average of $897 per year. The plan also includes additional tax breaks for small businesses, farms and seniors.

This tax cut is long overdue, as Democrats and Republicans in the State Legislature have had other priorities. Under Flanagan’s leadership, however, this issue has been a priority for the party.

Protecting the small businesses of New York is pivotal to job creation. In the past, New York has developed a reputation for being a less-than-desirable state to do business in. These cuts will allow businesses to expand and provide more jobs for younger New Yorkers, which will keep more of them here. I genuinely hope the proposal passes, for the good of all struggling taxpayers on Long Island.

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