WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. John Katko (NY-24) today (Dec. 19), highlighted significant wins for Central New York in the final tax reform legislation scheduled for a vote in the House and Senate today.
Katko, who supported the Tax Cut and Jobs Act in the House, continued to advocate for Central New York’s interests as the House and Senate worked together to conference on the bill.
Following his advocacy, the final version of the bill retains the income exclusion for graduate tuition waivers, the Federal Historic Preservation Tax Credit, and tax-exempt status for private activity bonds.
“The final tax legislation that the House will consider today contains significant wins for our community. It safeguards the Historic Preservation Tax Credit, the income exclusion for graduate tuition waivers, and tax-exempt status for private activity bonds,” said Katko. “I was proud to fight for our community’s best interests and truly believe that with passage of this bill, we can help grow our local economy to its fullest potential.”
First, the final legislation does not include a tax on graduate tuition waivers.
With numerous colleges and universities across NY-24, Central New York is a hub for higher education and research.
Throughout this process, Rep. Katko urged leaders to consider the harm a tax on these waivers would place on students and our region’s economic future.
“I am grateful to Congressman Katko for his support of higher education, which is such a vital component of our regional economy,” said Le Moyne College President Linda Le Mura. “Many members of the Le Moyne community, as well as our students, contacted him about certain aspects of the bill and he listened to what those concerns were. His support will help institutions of higher education maintain their competitive edge.”
Second, the bill retains the Historic Preservation Tax Credit, which has assisted in preserving some of our region’s most historic buildings and has been critical to the revitalization of downtown Syracuse.
This credit has allowed for the rehabilitation of many income-producing properties, increased employment opportunities, and provided low-income housing in some of the most impoverished sectors of our community.
Finally, the bill retains tax-exempt status for private activity bonds, which will be instrumental as Congress begins to look towards reforming our nation’s infrastructure.
Moreover, tax-exempt bonds are important financing tools for affordable housing, hospitals, and schools in Central New York and communities nationwide.
Ben Lockwood, vice president of Business Development for Housing Visions said, “As a non-profit affordable housing developer with a mission of neighborhood revitalization, Housing Visions is pleased to see the retention of private activity housing bonds as well as the Historic and New Market Tax Credits. These items are valuable tools that assist to provide safe, decent, affordable housing and also work to revitalize historic structures and neighborhoods throughout Congressman Katko’s district and others. We thank Congressman Katko for listening to our concerns and advocating for these provisions in the final tax bill.”
“The original House proposal would have eliminated private activity housing bonds, which help fund 17,000 affordable and supportive homes for low-income and homeless New Yorkers each year. Thankfully, Congressman Katko and others successfully fought to restore this valued program that provides incentive for private investment in affordable housing. The elimination of housing bonds would have destroyed affordable and supportive housing development here and around the country. We thank Congressman Katko for protecting this vital program. The Congressman has been a true champion for the homeless,” said Laura Mascuch, executive director of Supportive Housing Network of New York.
“Auburn Hospital is grateful for the efforts of Rep. Katko to ensure Private Activity Bonds remain tax-exempt. These are critical financing tools for investment in our hospital and its infrastructure,” said Scott Berlucchi, president and CEO of Auburn Hospital.
In addition to advocating for the above issues, Rep. Katko played an instrumental and tangible role in restoring a $10,000 deduction for local property and income taxes.
Katko represents the 24th Congressional District of New York, which includes all of Onondaga, Cayuga and Wayne counties and the western portion of Oswego County.
For more information visit https://katko.house.gov or www.facebook.com/RepJohnKatko.
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Hey Katko, quit peeing down our backs and telling us its raining. My federal tax liability just went up 2,30 dollars. I was in a lower tax bracket but with this new bill, I’m in a 22 per cent tax bracket. 39K to 145K. Start packing your bags. Wait till the other balloon heads in central New York realize how they’ve been lied to by you.
Why can’t these people in Washington DC see what this stupid tax bill really is all about. Making more money for the likes of Trump and does nothing to help the middle class at all
I love how the Republicans pat thereself on the back for saving things we already had, while they rob the middle class and the Treasury to give $1 trillion to the ultra rich! In the meantime, we can’t afford Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and good health care! Thank you sir may I have another!!!
Every tax bracket has been lowered.
If your State taxes are too high, your beef is with the fools in Albany led by little king Cuomo, not with those in Washington trying to lower taxes.
Stop breathing the stale air lies from the network news, and actually read the bill.
Thank you Rep Katko for your proper vote
Congratulations to the billionaire class and the oligarchy.
And thank you to average Republican voters for continuing to vote for aristocracy and injustice. This bill will radically increase the deficit which Republicans will then use as an excuse to cut your Social Security, Medicare, and any other program which actually benefits average Americans.
When you have a class war … and you have half the population (Republicans) siding with billionaires and corporations against their own interests and the interests of the vast majority of the American people … rest assured the people will lose that class war (as we’ve been doing for 40 years).
Hating billionaires – Check
mention oligarchy – check
mention aristocracy – check
mention evil corporations – check
Accuse Republicans of engaging in class warfare while doing it yourself- check
Same old talking points from the same old flawed thinking.
All tax brackets have been lowered, and the economy is booming, only to now boom more.
Thank you Rep. Katko for your proper vote.
“the economy is booming” = corporations are making record profits and the rich have never been richer. Wages and benefits for the majority of Americans continue to stagnate and decline. The costs of healthcare (for those fortunate enough to have some kind of coverage) continue to rise thus wiping out whatever supposed benefit middle-class/working-class people receive from this “tax cut.”
deny that the concentration of wealth in the hands of billionaires and other ultra-rich is a huge social problem – Check
protect oligarchy – check
protect aristocracy – check
protect corporate power – check
deny Republicans are engaging in class warfare on behalf of their rich campaign contributors – check
same old subservience to concentrated wealth and power – check
claiming that a trivial lowering of (some) middle-class tax brackets while giving enormous benefits to the ultra-rich is a “win for everybody” – check
Rep. Katko is funded by private corporations and he does what he’s told … he serves their interests, not the interests of the people in the Congressional district he “represents.” Other Republicans in the region actually voted against the measure due to the obvious harm it does to most people … but not Katko … he is willing to sacrifice his seat in Congress to serve billionaires and corporate power.
It’s fine, while things look incredibly bleak now with the billionaire fascist regime in power, a huge wave is coming in 2020 … people power, fighting back against the greed and corruption of Trump and his billionaire friends … Bernie 2020. Peace.
Merry Christmas Anonymous.
2018 will be so much better, as we the people will have more in our paychecks, while the abomination that is Obamacare will be diminished.
I wish you peace and joy, and the comfort of knowing that Donald Trump is still your President.
Once again, thank you Rep. Katko for your proper vote.
MAGA
Happy holidays.
There is a short-term modest tax reduction for some working people. If one myopically focuses on that and ignores the overall context of the Tax Bill: massive transfer of wealth to the richest people, regressive nature of the benefits (as Bernie Sanders said in a debate with Ted Cruz, “Hey Ted, if you want to talk about a tax bill where 80 percent of the benefit goes to middle/working class people , we can talk about that bill.”), throwing millions of people off of healthcare, etc. … then one misses the point.
If you give a working person a thousand bucks (or whatever) while corporations and other private for-profit entities continue to concentrate wealth and power in their own hands, continue to directly purchase Republican politicians, continue to assault Social Security and Medicare, the programs overwhelming numbers of Americans have collectively bargained to attain over the course of our history, grand national social projects to provide for economic security and medical care in old age, then the temporary “tax cut” does not actually improve the life of the “relieved taxpayer.”
$1000 (or whatever, supposedly) is enough to buy your consent to billionaire rule? No thanks.
Tax cuts do not “give” people money,(thus liberal thinking) Washington gets less from that person in the first place. The difference in our thinking, is that i believe it is our money first, and Washington then taxes for what they need. Your thinking is apparently that all money resides in Washington, and is then doled out to the masses. Wrong.
Being that Washington wastes a great deal of our money, they deserve less and less of it, until they can show they can be leaner and more efficient with it.
If you don’t like an assault on Social Security, you need look no further than LBJ’s colossal failure labeled “The Great Society” which transferred trillions from the SS fund to the general fund, and was spent up, and continues to be.
Medicare is not being raided, the rate of increase is slowed, that is not a cut. Not a cut.
One last thing for your education. There is not a finite amount of wealth that is hoarded by a few evil billionaires. Wealth is generated by capitalist transactions by the people. When the people have more of their own money, they create more wealth through purchasing activities. This is basic economics.
I want to once again wish you a Merry Christmas, and hope your new year is not filled with as much hate for those who provide jobs, and pay the enormous bulk of the taxes in this great country.
Thank you Rep. Katko for your proper vote.
Here’s the difference, Taxed: the way money and income are distributed in the first place.
You say “it’s our money,” … many progressives (and even some conservatives from what I’ve gathered) think the capitalist economy in this country, as it has developed since let’s just say Ronald Reagan, is fundamentally rigged. Corporations and, for simplicity, the Billionaire Class, have manipulated the system to “earn” unprecedented wealth … which leads to unprecedented influence over the government.
Now, in the Constitution, we see “We the People.” We don’t see we the capitalists, or we the corporations, or we the rich … we see “We the People” and we see a government constituted to “promote the general welfare.”
The general welfare is not having the top one-tenth of one percent take all the money while the rest of us struggle to eke out a decent existence.
Your analysis completely ignores history. You ignore the fact that corporations and the richest individuals used to pay significantly higher taxes. And that period of high taxes, from FDR into the 1970’s, happened to correlate with the growth of the American Middle Class, with much more egalitarian wealth distribution, what some refer to as “shared prosperity.” We didn’t see Wall Street collapse the economy in those years as we saw during the Great Recession of 2008 … capitalism, if that’s your chosen system, needs heavy regulation if the “general welfare” is going to remain society’s goal. You have to have Glass-Steagall (which corporate Democrat Bill Clinton and Republicans in Congress repealed). You have to have consumer protections. You have to regulate Wall Street and tax their transactions … otherwise you get, yes I’ll keep using the words, aristocracy/plutocracy/oligarchy.
But it’s fine, obviously with your worship for “job creators” like Walmart and other profit-maximizing entities that don’t pay their workers a living wage while amassing record profits and obscene wealth, you have gone far beyond the ability to objectively analyze your society. [I’ll just mention your description of “basic economics” is certainly debatable. I would agree that people should have more of their own money … by redistributing it from the billionaires who have unjustly taken it.]
Enjoy your last year in office Rep. Katko. Merry Christmas.
Oh well, I tried.
I choose to still appreciate the country I live in, where I have freedom to pursue any path I choose. I will never choose to be bitter, or envious of my fellow citizens because they might have more than I do. Nor do i hate businesses or corporations that have taken risks to get to where they are, and who employ the masses.
Bitterness and envy are two very immature, and unproductive traits to live with, however
I wish you well, and
Merry Christmas
Thank you Rep. Katko for your proper vote.